Box Score
GLASSBORO, N.J. – With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning and nobody on base, the Rutgers University-Camden Scarlet Raptors were seemingly ready to take its two-run lead in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Baseball Championship tournament into the sixth inning here Saturday afternoon.

Seven batters later, the top-seeded Raptors were looking at a two-run deficit and they never recovered as they were eliminated by Rowan University, 8-3, in their second game of the day. The Scarlet Raptors had extended their tournament stay with a 5-3 morning victory over Kean University in the double-elimination tournament.
 Rutgers-Camden, with a 29-11-1 record, will have to wait until May 11 to see if it gets picked for a berth in the NCAA Division III Regionals. The Scarlet Raptors entered the weekend tied for third with Kean in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region, trailing top-ranked Moravian College and No. 2 Rowan.

Rowan (31-8) advances to the NJAC championship game, where it will face Montclair State University at 12 p.m. Sunday. If the Red Hawks beat the Profs, a winner-take-all title game will follow the first game.

With two outs in the fourth inning and nobody on base, Scarlet Raptor sophomore starter Chris Scarlett (Galloway, NJ/Holy Spirit) held a 3-1 lead and was pitching a four-hitter. Moments later, the Scarlet Raptors felt they had Rowan junior rightfielder Ryan Pavlik (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional) out on strikes, but they didn't get the call and Pavlik eventually drew a walk. He was the first of seven straight Profs to reach base in the frame as Rowan surged to a 5-3 lead.

Junior shortstop Ryan Williams (Southampton, NJ/Seneca) followed by reaching on a fielder's choice when Pavlik beat a throw to second and senior second baseman Mark Benek (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) drilled a game-tying double down the right field line. Junior designated hitter Casey Grimes (Gibbstown, NJ/Paulsboro) followed with an infield single to chase Scarlett and bring in Raptor junior Ron Reagan (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional).
 Reagan was greeted with a RBI single to right field by junior third baseman Kevin McMenamin (Maple Shade, NJ/Maple Shade). A walk to senior centerfielder Eric Perez (Fords, NJ/Woodbridge) loaded the bases for junior Rich Powelson (Shamong, NJ/Seneca), whose infield single plated another run. The Raptors finally wriggled out of the inning when sophomore catcher Stephen Petriello (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) flied to left. Petriello, the 10th batter in the frame, had started the inning being robbed of a bloop single in shallow right-center on a great catch by Raptor sophomore second baseman Joe Sigismondi (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional).

Rowan tacked on a run in the seventh on a home run by Benek and two in the eighth on a home run by Williams.

The Profs' 12-hit attack supported a complete game by junior Dylan Johannink (Medford Lakes, NJ/Shawnee), who threw well over 100 pitches in raising his record to 6-0. He allowed nine hits, one walk and three earned runs, while striking out nine.

Early in the game, Rutgers-Camden had Johannink on the ropes, leaving two runners on base in both the third and fourth innings as the Raptors took a 2-0 lead. They scored a pair of runs in the third after freshman shortstop Tim Holder (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) hit a one-out double and moved to third on a single by junior centerfielder Bobby Romano (Vineland, NJ/Vineland). With two outs, Romano stole second and both runners scored on a single to left field by Sigismondi.

Rowan cut its deficit to 2-1 with a run in the fourth on a walk and two hits, including a RBI double by Perez. Rutgers-Camden, however, answered with a run in the top of the fifth after sophomore third baseman Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) singled, Sigismondi was hit by a pitch and freshman designated hitter Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) sacrificed the runners to second and third. Senior rightfielder Adrian Gonzalez (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) followed with a sacrifice fly to left field for his 47th RBI of the year, breaking the old program mark of 46 by Gerry Gatelein in 1996.

Scarlett (4-2) took the loss, working 4.2 innings and allowing six hits, two walks and five earned runs.

Perez went 3-for-3 to pace Rowan's 12-hit attack.

Sigismondi and Holder both had two hits for the Scarlet Raptors.