By NJCU Athletics
The New Jersey City University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is mourning the sudden passing of former Gothic Knight baseball pitching star Robert E. Motacki, Jr., 29, on November 17.
A May 2007 graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary and Special Education and dual major in History, he had a Teacher of Elementary and Special Edu- cation certificate awarded in January 2008 by the University before later receiving a master’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University in health care administration.
“When Rob was a student here he was well-liked and respected by everyone,” said NJCU’s Director of Sports Information Ira Thor. “He was a leader on the baseball diamond and off the field was a driving force behind some of our more impactful community service initiatives, including the trips to the Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside where he and other baseball players dressed in cartoon costumes and spent time with the children.”
Motacki, the last Gothic Knight pitcher to toss a no-hitter, was voted the 2005 CUNYAC Pitcher of the Year in NJCU’s lone season as a non-NJAC member. That year, Motacki was a First-Team All-CUNYAC pick, Second-Team All-Association of Division III Independents, and a three-time CUNYAC Pitcher of the Week selection (March 28, April 4 and April 25, 2005). He served as team co-captain in 2005.
The greatest game of his four- year career (2004-07) came on May 3, 2005 when he pitched the school’s first no-hitter since 1991 in a 2-1 home win over Baruch College that clinched the CUN- YAC regular season championship. Motacki struck out eight, walked one, and allowed a lone unearned run after the first batter of the game reached on an error. He retired the final 13 batters of the game, struck out the side in the sixth inning, and faced the minimum number of batters in every inning except the first.
A three-year starter from 2004- 06 (injured in 2007), the 5-foot- 10 right-hander wore No. 11 on the mound for NJCU. He graduated with a share of the program’s career wins record (12), which stood until April, 2013. He still ranks tied for second all-time in wins, fourth in games started (28), eighth in strikeouts (112) and strikeouts per nine innings (5.71), ninth in innings pitched (176.2) and 11th in complete games (7).
Motacki posted a 12-13 career ledger while pitching primarily in the difficult New Jersey Athletic Conference, going 5-5 as a freshman in 2004 in 11 appearances (10 starts). He matched a single-season school record in 2005 with six wins, going 6-3 in 11 appearances (11 starts) with a 3.80 ERA and four complete games. Overall in his career, he made 34 appearances and 28 starts with a 5.65 ERA, seven complete games and and 112 strikeouts against only 64 walks and a .272 opposing batting average.