UNION, N.J. – The Drew University baseball team carried a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, but Kean University rallied for an 8-7 victory to spoil the Rangers' season opener on a windy, warm Friday afternoon.
 
With runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Tyler Provost lifted a blooper in shallow centerfield, where junior Anthony Hernandez made a valiant effort for the Rangers with a diving attempt. But the ball was ruled to have hit the ground as Hernandez scooped it up as the winning run scored.
 
Drew never trailed until the game ended after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, which was highlighted by a two-run homer from sophomore Will Fritch in his first at-bat as a Ranger.
 
Sophomore Ryan Jones led the Rangers at the plate, finishing 3-for-4, while Fritch, junior Nate Miller, and junior Luis Fuentes all collected two hits apiece.
 
Sophomore Kenny Yonker fired six innings in relief, allowing just two runs for Drew.
 
Christian Pellone went 3-for-5 and scored the game-winning run for the Cougars (1-1), who are coming off a 31-13 season.
 
After junior Anthony Diaz reached on a passed ball-strike three leading off the game, Fritch – a transfer from County College of Morris – stepped in and delivered a blast over the leftfield fence to give the Rangers a quick 2-0 lead. Drew would score again following back-to-back singles from Miller and Hernandez, a wild pitch, and a groundout.
 
Kean was quick to answer in the bottom half, however, crossing the plate with three runs on four hits to make it a 3-3 game.
 
After the early offensive display, things settled down for a bit as Yonker and Kean reliever Sean DuBois tossed three straight scoreless innings. But in the top of the fifth, Drew pushed across three unearned runs to go up 6-3. Jones led off with a single, and after an outfield error, three Rangers scored on a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly from senior K.J. Hallgren, and a fielder's choice.
 
The Cougars scored twice on two hits in the bottom of the seventh to draw within a run before sophomore Tom Wilkie pitched a scoreless eighth.
 
Drew added a run of their own in the top of the ninth. Hallgren and Miller ripped consecutive one-out singles before Fuentes drilled a two-out single through the left side to score Hallgren, who dived across the plate just ahead of the throw home.
 
In the bottom half, Kean loaded the bases with no outs after back-to-back hit batsmen and an infield single, then tied the game on a two-run infield error. Sophomore Raiden Yost nearly escaped the jam, however, getting a popup and a strikeout before Provost's walk-off hit.
 
The Rangers are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 18, when they take on Mount Saint Vincent in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J.