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CAMDEN, N.J. (April 25, 2015) – Junior Billy Jackson (Estell Manor, NJ/Buena Regional) hurled an eight-hit shutout in the opening game and had a game-winning RBI infield single in the 12th inning of the nightcap as the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team swept nationally-ranked Kean University, 7-0 and 3-2, here Saturday to win the regular-season title in the New Jersey Athletic Conference for the second straight year.
 
The sweep, aided by nine shutout relief innings in the nightcap by freshman Carter Fichter (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial), gives the Scarlet Raptors (20-14 overall, 14-4 NJAC) the top seed in the upcoming NJAC playoffs. They begin Tuesday when Rutgers-Camden hosts No. 6 seed The College of New Jersey.
 
Kean (28-10, 12-6), which is ranked No. 5 in the d3baseball.com Top 25 and No. 7 in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Division III poll, will be the second seed in the NJAC tournament. The Cougars will host No. 5 Montclair State on Tuesday.
 
Rutgers-Camden closes its regular season Monday with a 3:30 p.m. non-conference game, hosting Eastern University in a Senior Day game.
 Jackson became the first pitcher this season to shut out Kean as he walked one and struck out five in his eight-hitter. He raised his record to 4-1.
 
The Scarlet Raptors scored the only run he needed in the second inning after senior first baseman Connor Hall (Delran, NJ/Delran) hit a leadoff double to right field and was sacrificed to third by sophomore shortstop Pedro Perez (Burlington, NJ/Burlington City). He scored on a sacrifice fly to center by senior designated hitter Adam Bartholomew (Haddon Heights, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep), the first of two sacrifice flies in the game by Bartholomew to tie a program record. The last person to do that was his current teammate, Jon Theckston (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), who accomplished the feat during his freshman season on May 15, 2014 in the NCAA tournament against Castleton State.
 
The Raptors added two-run innings in the third, fifth and eighth. Three hits, an error and a wild pitch led to the third-inning runs, while a hit, intentional walk, error and a Bartholomew sacrifice fly plated two more runs in the fifth. The eighth-inning featured three hits, including RBI singles by junior third baseman Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and Theckston.
 
For the game, Tenuto went 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI, while Theckston and sophomore left fielder Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) both went 2-for-5. Theckston added one RBI, while Brooks scored a run. Hall had a hit, two intentional walks and two runs, while Bartholomew had two RBIs on his sacrifice flies.
 After threatening to win the second game in practically every frame from the eighth inning on, the Scarlet Raptors finally broke through in the bottom of the 12th to take the game and the NJAC regular-season title. Theckston opened the winning rally with a single to left and Brooks followed with a walk. After senior center fielder Bobby Romano (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) sacrificed, Hall was intentionally walked to load the bases. Kean reliever Vinny Zanfordino (Edison, NJ/Edison) got the second out on a strikeout, but Jackson followed with a grounder to the shortstop hole. Cougar shortstop Ryan Reitmeyer (Lacey Township, NJ/Lacey Township) made a terrific diving stop, but Hall barely beat his throw on the attempted force at second as Theckston scored the winning run.
 
That run made a winning pitcher out of Fichter (2-2), who relieved starter John Griffin (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) to start the fourth inning and ended up throwing nine scoreless innings of four-hit ball. He walked four and struck out four.
 
Kean scored its two runs in the third on RBI singles by sophomore left fielder Tom Heisch (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) and junior first baseman Sal Taormina (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian).
 
Rutgers-Camden, which was blanked for four innings by Cougar junior starter Emilio Calderon (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy), cut its deficit in half with a fifth-inning run. Sophomore right fielder Zach Ellin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) doubled to left and scored on a single by Theckston.
 
The Raptors tied the game in the seventh following a double by sophomore designated hitter Doug Carter (Union, NJ/Union). He advanced on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ellin.
 
The Raptors nearly broke the 2-2 tie in the eight with two runners on base and two outs, but a line drive by Perez was speared on a terrific leaping catch by Reitmeyer at shortstop.  Rutgers-Camden also stranded two runners in the ninth and 10th innings, before scoring the winner in the 12th.
 
Theckston went 3-for-6 with one run and one RBI to lead the Raptors' 14-hit attack. Jackson, Carter and Ellin all added two hits.