Box Score CAMDEN, N.J. – Throughout their magical 2014 baseball season, the Rutgers University-Camden Scarlet Raptors have produced numerous thrilling victories.
Few of those wins were as thrilling, or unlikely, as the Raptors' comeback victory here Monday against Eastern University.
Down to their last strike in the bottom of the ninth, the Scarlet Raptors scored two runs to pull out a 3-2 non-conference victory over the Eagles in the final game of the regular season.
Rutgers-Camden, with a 27-9-1 record and a seven-game winning streak, will be the top seed when the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs open Tuesday. The Scarlet Raptors host sixth-seeded William Paterson University at 3:30 p.m.
Eastern University closes its season with a 7-27 record.
The two teams went to the ninth inning locked in a 1-1 tie before Eastern loaded the bases with no outs on back-to-back singles by junior shortstop
Ryan McMenamin (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) and senior centerfielder
Tyler Orr (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) and a walk to junior catcher
Eric Rossi (Malvern, PA/Conestoga). Raptor freshman
Jay Gorman (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional), in his fourth inning of work, nearly worked out of the jam with a strikeout and an infield popup before walking freshman pitcher/designated hitter
Ryan Kehr (Littlestown, PA/Littlestown) to force home the go-ahead run.
In the bottom of the ninth, however, Raptor junior catcher
Adam Bartholomew (Haddon Heights, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) was hit by a pitch as the only batter that freshman reliever
Tyler Sterkenburg (Emmaus, PA/Conestoga) faced. Senior
Barry Jost (Wall, NJ/Manasquan), the sixth Eagle pitcher of the game, entered the contest and Bartholomew was replaced by junior pinch-runner
Ed King (Riverton, NJ/Holy Cross). Freshman centerfielder
Zach Ellin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) followed with a bunt and sophomore third baseman
Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) dropped a double into no-man's land in short right field, but King slipped and was thrown out on his way home. With two strikes, sophomore shortstop
Joe Sigismondi (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional) drilled a single to left field, scoring Tenuto with the tying run. Sigismondi stole second and scored when freshman designated hitter
Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) flared an opposite-field looper toward the left field line. It fell just out of the reach of diving Eastern leftfielder
Greg Lukasik (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore) for a game-winning single.
Gorman picked up the win to raise his record to 2-0. He worked four innings of three-hit ball, walking three, striking out two and allowing one earned run.
Scarlet Raptor freshman
Zach Welsher (Audubon, NJ/Audubon) was impressive in his first varsity collegiate start, working five innings of two-hit ball, walking two and striking out two. He allowed only one earned run in the third inning, when freshman third baseman
Jake Bunjo (Landenberg, PA/Avon Grove) walked, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a single by Kehr.
Kehr had a fine start for the Eagles, working six innings of three-hit ball. He walked three and struck out two, allowing only a fourth-inning run when junior centerfielder
Bobby Romano (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) singled, stole second and scored on a single by Tenuto.
Jost (2-3) took the loss, allowing three hits and two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Tenuto went 3-for-5 with one run and one RBI for the Scarlet Raptors, while Romano was 2-for-3 with one run.
Orr went 2-for-3 for Eastern.
