Box Score CAMDEN, N.J. – The third time was the charm.
After watching two previous attempts to play Penn State-Abington end in weather-related postponements, the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team finally got the chance to face the Nittany Lions in a non-conference game here Monday. The Scarlet Raptors used a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a 4-3 victory in the game which had been postponed on both March 5 and March 26.
Rutgers-Camden improves to 6-8 with its fourth straight victory and third win in two days. The Raptors swept a conference doubleheader at William Paterson University Sunday.
Penn State-Abington falls to 2-9 with its sixth straight loss.
Trailing most of the game, the Scarlet Raptors finally pushed ahead the tying and winning runs in the seventh inning following a leadoff walk to senior center fielder
Bobby Romano (Vineland, NJ/Vineland). That walk was the end of the day for PSU-Abington sophomore starter
Diego Melendez (Camden, NJ/Pennsauken), who pitched six-plus innings, allowing four hits, three earned runs and five walks. He struck out five.
Freshman
Matt McDonough (Abington, PA/Abington), replaced Melendez and took the loss to fall to 0-2. He walked junior designated hitter
Joe Sigismondi (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional) before sophomore right fielder
Zach Ellin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) laid down a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore second baseman
Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) was walked intentionally to load the bases, and senior first baseman
Connor Hall (Delran, NJ/Delran) delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, tying the game at 3-3 and advancing Sigismondi to third. With runners at the corners and two outs, the Raptors pulled a play allowing Brooks to get caught in a rundown between first and second as Sigismondi raced home with the eventual winning run, touching the plate barely before Brooks was tagged for the final out of the inning.
Rutgers-Camden's late rally made a winner out of Raptor junior reliever
Frank Cerami IV (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley), who worked three perfect innings to earn his first Raptor decision. He struck out two.
Melendez and Raptor sophomore starter
Pedro Perez (Burlington, NJ/Burlington City) both worked six innings, allowing three earned runs. The Nittany Lions notched two runs in the first on two hits, a walk and a fielder's choice. Rutgers-Camden bounced back with single runs in the second, when Romano tripled home sophomore shortstop
Tim Holder (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) after a walk, and in the fifth on a hit batsman, a walk, a sacrifice and a run-scoring ground out by Hall.
Penn State-Abington regained the lead in the sixth when senior catcher
Tom Ditro (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) hit a two-out double and scored on a triple by sophomore shortstop
Max German (Newtown, PA/Council Rock North). Junior third baseman
Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) went 2-for-4 to lead the Raptors' six-hit attack, while Ditro had two of the five hits for Penn State-Abington.
Rutgers-Camden is scheduled to play a 3:30 p.m. non-conference game Tuesday at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham.
