ACQUISTO BOOSTS MIDDLESEX BASEBALL AS COLTS GO 3-1 ON OPENING WEEKEND

Middlesex College Baseball kicked off their 2025 season by going 3-1 against Suffolk CC and Bucks County CC on opening weekend.

The Colts split with Suffolk CC, dropping the first game 9-8 and coming back to win game two 10-3. They swept Bucks in two high-drama games by scores of 8-6 and 4-3.

In the opener against Suffolk, Middlesex jumped out to a 7-2 lead through four innings, before Suffolk mounted a furious comeback over the last two innings. After Suffolk scored a first inning run, Trevor Myers (Freshman/Easthampton, NJ) hit a two-run homer and Jhoalvin Ledesma (Freshman/Carteret, NJ) drove home a run with a single to make it 3-1.

Ryan Acquisto (Sophomore/Point Pleasant Boro, NJ) hit a three-run homer in the second to extend the lead to 6-1. Suffolk rallied to get to within 7-6 in the sixth inning, but Acquisto added his second homer of the game to make the score 8-6 going into the last.

However, Suffolk rallied for three runs to take a 9-8 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Middlesex got the tying and winning runs into scoring position, but the Sharks held off Middlesex to nail down the win.

Acquisto was 2-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored and Conor Drury (Sophomore/North Brunswick, NJ) went 3-3 with a walk, a double and a run scored.

The Colts picked up their first win of the season by bouncing back in game two.

Again, Middlesex fell behind 1-0 and also trailed 2-1, but the Colts scored nine runs over the pan of the second and third innings on their way to the 10-3 win.

Brett Lukachyk (Sophomore/Woodbridge, NJ) was the hitting star of the game, going 4-4 with two doubles, a triple, three runs scored, and three RBIs. Acquisto was 2-3 with a double, run and three RBIs.

Anthony Singh (Freshman/Colonia, NJ) picked up his first collegiate win with four masterful innings of relief. The righty allowed just one hit and struck out five over four scoreless innings.

Middlesex bounced right back the next day with another home doubleheader against Bucks CC.

The Colts built an early 5-0 lead, supported by another Acquisto home run, and were cruising along through the first three innings. Ryan Rzepinski (Sophomore/Bayonne, NJ) got the start on the mound for the Colts and recorded the first eight outs of the game by strikeout. However, he fell victim to wildness and a defensive miscue as Bucks tied the game at 5 in the fourth.

Middlesex took advantage of some mistakes by Bucks in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead and added an important eighth run on an RBI single by Ledesma in the fifth to carry an 8-5 lead into the seventh.

Bucks sent seven men to the plate in the top of the seventh to make things interesting, but the Colts would hold on for the win. The Centurions would score a run to make it 8-6 and had the bases loaded with two outs and the top of their lineup up. Their leadoff batter lined a shot into the right-center gap, but a great sliding catch by Joshua Friedman (Freshman/Bogota, NJ) sealed the win for the Colts.

Acquisto had another big day at the plate going 2-3 with three runs and two RBIs. Joshua Rodriguez (Sophomore/North Brunswick, NJ) 2-3 with a double, a run and two RBIs.

Rzepinski finished with 9 strikeouts in 3.2 innings, but gained a hard-luck no-decision. He gave up five runs, but just two were earned. Maurice Hedderman (Freshman/South Amboy, NJ) picked up his first collegiate win with three solid innings out of the bullpen. The lefty allowed just one hit and one unearned run while striking out four.

The drama continued in game two against Bucks as the Colts were down 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth. Middlesex scored two in the inning on a squeeze by Rodriguez and a two-out triple by Jake Graci (Freshman/Kendall Park, NJ), but the Centurions bounced right back and tied it at three in the bottom of the inning.

With the score tied going to the bottom of the seventh, Lukachyk led off by reaching on an error. Julian Collado (Freshman/Perth Amboy, NJ) then doubled to bring up the weekend's hitting star, Acquisto.

The freshman capped an incredible weekend by delivering a walk off RBI to give the Colts a 4-3 win.

Joshua Horowitz (Sophomore/Red Bank, NJ) got the start for Middlesex and pitched well. He went five innings and allowed five hits and two runs while striking out nine. Friedman picked up the win, pitching two innings of relief.

Middlesex returns to the diamond on Thursday when they begin Region 19 play. The Colts will face off against Ocean CC on Thursday and Friday this week. Thursday's game is scheduled as a home game with a 1:30PM start, weather permitting.