The New Jersey Athletic Conference boasted one of the most competitive races for a conference title - and you wouldn't have known it if you only read the dailies! An amazing 6 team race was decided in a matter of a weekend as the NJAC ended a rousing regular season.
So who came out on top?
A wild race for the regular season crown in the New Jersey Athletic Conference came down to the final regular season game, as Rowan salvaged a split with Montclair State, giving defending National Champion Kean University the regular season title for the second straight year.
The Cougars defeated The College of New Jersey 3-0 and 6-1, giving Kean the top-seed in the NJAC tournament and a home game against Richard Stockton on Thursday. Richard Stockton swept William Paterson on Saturday, 7-4 and 10-9, to claim the final playoff spot. Ramapo’s sweep of Rutgers-Newark not only eliminated in the Scarlet Raiders, but gave dropped RNU into eighth place, as the sweep gave Ramapo the tie-breaker for seventh.
New Jersey City University and Rutgers-Camden battled in a match-up of cellar dwellers, with the Gothic Knights sweeping RUC, 9-6 and 15-2.
Joe Bartlinski shut out TCNJ in the opener on Saturday, holding the high-powered Lion offense to just five singles, walking two and striking out five. Tom Paglione picked iup the win for the Cougars in game two, allowing just six hits and a run. TCNJ got complete game losses from Mike Oliver and Bob Buskett.
At Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair, MSU slugger Rob Bowness and Rowan closer Kevin O’Hara staged their own battle, with Bowness’ game-winning two-run single in the bottom of the ninth giving MSU the opener. In the nightcap, O’Hara fanned Bowness with the bases loaded, preserving a 10-8 victory of the Profs.
Rowan came into the doubleheader in fourth place, one game back of MSU, TCNJ and Kean, thanks to a 3-2 loss to Rutgers-Camden on Friday. MSU held on to first with an 11-10 win over New Jersey City University,as Lou Politan and Ed Kloepping each drove in two runs.
William Paterson’s late season slide continued, as the Pioneers, who were in first place as little as two weeks ago, were swept by Richard Stockton. WPU had a 9-5 lead in the nightcap, but the Ospreys roared back, scoring five in the bottom of the ninth to win.
The New Jersey Athletic Conference boasted one of the most competitive races for a conference title - and you wouldn't have known it if you only read the dailies! An amazing 6 team race was decided in a matter of a weekend as the NJAC ended a rousing regular season. 
