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JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Junior third baseman Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) went 4-for-5 to lead an 18-hit attack as the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team won the second game of a doubleheader over New Jersey City University, 15-5, to salvage a split in New Jersey Athletic Conference action Saturday.
 
The Scarlet Raptors made seven errors in the opener, including three in the deciding ninth inning, as they lost, 9-8.
 
Rutgers-Camden stands at 17-11 overall and 11-3 in the NJAC, while NJCU is 12-16 and 4-10.
 
Rutgers-Camden plays a 3:30 p.m. non-conference home game Sunday against Stevens Institute of Technology.
 Just when it looked like the Scarlet Raptors had a second life, scoring four times in the top of the ninth to tie the game, Rutgers-Camden threw away its chance for a comeback victory. The Raptors made three infield errors in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the winning run to score when a potential inning-ending double play resulted in an errant throw on the back end.
 
The sudden ending spoiled a terrific comeback in the top of the ninth, when the Raptors loaded the bases with three singles and Tenuto ripped a three-run double. Tenuto later scored the tying run on a squeeze by sophomore right fielder Zach Ellin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee).
 
The two teams matched similar three-run frames through five innings in the pitchers' duel between Raptor junior Billy Jackson (Estell Manor, NJ/Buena) and Gothic Knight freshman Jose Ortiz (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy).
 
NJCU took a three-run lead in the second on three hits and two costly errors, with only one run being earned off Jackson. The Scarlet Raptors countered with a three-run inning of their own – two of the runs unearned – in the fifth, which included only one hit, a single by Ellin for their first hit of the game off Ortiz.
 
Rutgers-Camden broke through with a run in the sixth while chasing Ortiz. Sophomore shortstop Pedro Perez (Burlington, NJ/Burlington City) Tenuto had singles to place runners at the corners. After a fielder's choice caught Perez at the plate, senior Tom Colaiacovo (Helmetta, NJ/Southern Regional) relieved Ortiz and walked junior second baseman Matthew McElhatton (Haddon Heights, NJ/Camden Catholic) to load the bases. Ellin followed with an infield single to second base, plating the run.
 
The Gothic Knights came right back with two in the bottom of the frame following a one-out infield single by senior shortstop Michael Martucci (Bayonne, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep). Senior first baseman Alex Weinstein (Colonia, NJ/JFK-Iselin) doubled him home and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore second baseman Nick Ruscingno (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck).
 
NJCU added three more runs in the seventh on four hits, including a two-run single by Weinstein, who later scored on a throwing error.
  After falling into a 1-0 first-inning hole, the Raptors took the lead for good with three runs in the third inning and pushed across at least one run in every inning the rest of the way.
 
Sophomore right fielder Brandon Cornelius (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) sparked the go-ahead rally with a one-out infield single in the third. McElhatton followed with a single and both advanced on a sacrifice by junior designated hitter Joe Sigismondi (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional). Sophomore catcher Jon Theckston (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) tied the game with a single to left field and sophomore left fielder Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) followed with a RBI single down the left field line for his 100th career hit. Senior center fielder Bobby Romano (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) singled home the final run of the inning.
 
The Raptors added another run in the fourth, on a McElhatton sacrifice fly, tacked on two in the fifth, aided by a RBI triple from Tenuto, and scored three more times in the sixth. Senior first baseman Adam Bartholomew (Haddon Heights, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) drilled a two-run home run in that inning, while Brooks added a RBI single.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished off the game scoring two runs apiece in innings seven through nine. Sigismondi had a two-run single in the seventh, Theckston singled home two in the eighth and the ninth featured a sacrifice fly by Cornelius and a RBI single from freshman catcher Jim Teran (Sicklerville, NJ/St. Joseph-Hammonton).
 
In addition to Tenuto's four hits, Sigismondi, Theckston and Brooks added two apiece. Bartholomew and Theckston each had three RBIs, while Sigismondi and Brooks collected two each.
 
Theckston, who notched hits in both games, stretched his hitting streak to 13 games.
 
Junior John Griffin (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) worked 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits, four runs (three earned) and two walks. He struck out six while raising his record to 2-2.