FIGUEROA THROWS ANOTHER GEM AS MIDDLESEX BASEBALL WINS 19TH OUT OF LAST 20

Isaiah Figueroa posted his second straight fantastic start Thomas O'Halloran was a catalyst on offense as #10 Middlesex College Baseball topped NJCAA Division II foe Sussex CC 4-1.

The Colts have now gone 19-1 over their past 20 games and are 32-11 on the season.

Middlesex and Sussex (27-9) breezed through four scoreless innings before the Colts offense finally broke through.

Middlesex scored once in the bottom of the fifth, twice in the sixth and then added an insurance run in the seventh.

As the Colts offense scraped across runs against a tough Skylanders squad, Figueroa was dicing up Sussex on the mound.

The righty, who has won an NJCAA National Pitcher of the Week Award, ripped through eight innings on the mound and allowed just three hits and a run while striking out 10. Figueroa moved to 6-1 on the year.

Ryan Poulson (Freshman/Milltown, NJ) came on to pitch a scoreless ninth to pick up his first collegiate save, striking out two batters in the process.

Sussex performed well on the mound and although Middlesex had consistent baserunners, the Skylanders avoided the big inning. Middlesex managed seven hits and drew four walks.

Leading the way for Middlesex was Thomas O'Halloran (Freshman/Fords, NJ) who was perfect in four at bats. The star centerfielder went 2-2 with a run, RBI and double and walked twice in four at bats. In going 2-2, O'Halloran raised his average above .450 and is now on a 17-game hitting streak. Twelve of those 17 games are multi-hit games. O'Halloran is second in the region and fifth nationally with 73 hits.

Kiefer Goss (Sophomore/Hamilton, NJ) was the only other Colt to register a multi-hit game. Goss went 2-4 with a run, a double and a stolen base. Goss raised his average on the season to .363 and is third on the team with a .565 slugging percentage.

Against Sussex, Connor Luckie (Sophomore/Hamilton, NJ) recorded his 100^th career hit.

With the regular season winding down, Middlesex is in the driver's seat for a possible #2 seed in the Region 19 Tournament. The Colts are behind national #2 RCSJ-Gloucester (19-0, 38-5) in the standings and are currently ahead of Atlantic Cape (10-9, 14-11), Ocean (9-9, 14-15), RCSJ-Cumberland (12-12, 15-9) and Brookdale (10-11, 28-14).

Middlesex has three regular season doubleheaders left, beginning with Monroe CC on Wednesday at home. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30pm.