Box Score CAMDEN, N.J. (May 4, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Camden baseball team scored a pair of unearned runs on a two-out infield throwing error in the sixth inning to break a tie game and the Scarlet Raptors worked out of a ninth-inning jam to defeat Stevens Institute of Technology, 6-5, in a non-conference game here Monday night.
The win lifts Rutgers-Camden to 25-16, while Stevens falls to 27-13.
Trailing, 4-3, entering the bottom of the sixth, the Scarlet Raptors started their winning rally when senior first baseman
Connor Hall (Delran, NJ/Delran) singled to right field and junior second baseman
Billy Jackson (Estell Manor, NJ/Buena Regional) walked to open the frame. Sophomore shortstop
Tim Holder (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) reached on a fielder's choice, with Hall retired at third base on an attempted sacrifice bunt, but sophomore right fielder
Zach Ellin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) laced a single to center field, plating Jackson with the tying run. Junior third baseman
Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) loaded the bases with a single and, after a strikeout, sophomore left fielder
Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) hit a grounder to third base that seemingly had the Ducks out of the jam. The throw across the diamond, however, pulled Stevens' first baseman off the bag for an error as Holder scored from third and Ellin came all the way around to score from second.
Those runs proved to be a huge cushion as the Ducks attempted to rally in the ninth inning against Raptor junior reliever
Andrew Gottstein (Bloomsburg, PA/Bloomsburg) and junior closer
Kyle Gaff (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester City). A leadoff walk ended a fine four-inning relief outing by Gottstein and brought on Gaff. After a strikeout, junior first baseman
Nick Sieber (Shrewsbury, MA/St. John's Shrewsbury) singled to set the stage for a RBI single by senior catcher
Gregg Nickels (Simpsonville, SC/Woodmont). The Ducks advanced a pair of runners into scoring position with a slow chopper to third base for the second out, but Gaff wriggled out of the jam with another grounder to third and Tenuto put the tag on Nickels to end the game.
Gaff worked one inning, allowing two hits and striking out one as he nailed down his fifth save of the season. Gottstein (4-2), who was the tough-luck losing pitcher when the Raptors dropped a 3-1 decision against Stevens on April 19, got the victory this time around. He went four hitless innings, allowing three walks and one earned run, while striking out one in relief of sophomore starter
Pedro Perez (Burlington, NJ/Burlington City). Rutgers-Camden built a 3-0 lead through three innings. In the bottom of the first, Tenuto and Brooks sandwiched singles around a walk to sophomore catcher
Jon Theckston (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), with Brooks driving home a run. A second run scored on a ground out by senior designated hitter
Adam Bartholomew (Haddon Heights, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep). The Raptors added their third run in the third inning on an error, a single by Brooks and a sacrifice fly by senior center fielder
Bobby Romano (Vineland, NJ/Vineland). After opening the game by retiring the first eight batters and allowing only one hit through three innings, things fell apart for Perez in the fourth inning. Stevens' first four batters reached base on three hits – including a RBI single by Sieber – and a walk. Only a stellar play by Perez -- turning a swinging bunt dribbler down the third base line into a force out at home, aided by a fine play by catcher Theckston – prevented more trouble. The Ducks tied the game on a two-run single by junior left fielder
Tyler Bush (Bristol, CT/Bristol Eastern) and then took the lead as Bush intentionally got caught in a rundown as Nickels raced home before the tag.
The Scarlet Raptors took the lead for good two innings later.
Brooks finished the day going 3-for-4 with one RBI, while Tenuto went 3-for-5 with one run scored to fuel the Scarlet Raptors' nine-hit attack off three Stevens pitchers.
Sieber went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI for the Ducks.
Senior
Peirce Marston (Silver Spring, MD/Montgomery Blair), the second of three Stevens pitchers, took the loss in relief. He worked 1.1 innings, allowing three hits and one walk, while fanning two. Marston (5-2) allowed three runs, only one of them earned.
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Thursday with a 4 p.m. game at York (PA) College.
