Box Score

YORK, Penn. (May 7, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Camden baseball team is using its final week of regular-season action as a tune-up for what it hopes will be games in the NCAA Division III tournament.
 
The Scarlet Raptors had their offense kick into high gear here Thursday as they pounded out 16 hits to post a 9-6 victory over York College. The victory, Rutgers-Camden's second in its two games so far this week, raises the Scarlet Raptors' record to 26-16. York falls to 14-22.
 
The Scarlet Raptors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when sophomore shortstop Pedro Perez (Burlington, NJ/Burlington City) hit a leadoff home run to left field. It was his second homer of the season, with the first one coming on April 2 against Rowan University.
 
In the third inning, sophomore right fielder Zach Ellin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) hit a leadoff triple to right center and scored on a single by junior third baseman Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic). Sophomore catcher Jon Theckston (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and sophomore left fielder Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) followed with singles, with Brooks driving home a run. After a fielder's choice and a wild pitch advanced Brooks to third, he scored on another wild pitch.
 
Trailing, 4-0, the Spartans exploded for five runs in the bottom of the third on three hits, a hit batsman, two walks, an error and two wild pitches. The big blow in the frame was a two-run single by freshman third baseman Christian Bilan (Lumberton, NJ/Camden Catholic), which ended the day for Raptor junior starter Ryan Sullivan (Livingston, NJ/Livingston). Freshman Carter Fichter (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) entered the game and got the final out of the inning on a fly out.
 
The Scarlet Raptors quickly struck back in the fourth, with sophomore designated hitter Doug Carter (Union, NJ/Union) ripping a one-out double and scoring on a single by Ellin to tie the game. Tenuto added another single before Brooks plated two runs with a triple.
 
York cut the gap to 7-6 in the fourth inning on a RBI single by sophomore center fielder Logan Countryman (Baltimore, MD/Loch Raven), but Rutgers-Camden got  the run back in the sixth on a single by Ellin and an RBI single by Theckston. The Scarlet Raptors added their final run in the ninth on a RBI single by Tenuto, following a two-base infield throwing error.
 
Rutgers-Camden's 16-hit attack included three hits apiece by Tenuto, Theckston, Brooks and Ellin. Carter added two hits for the Scarlet Raptors.
 
Brooks had three RBIs, while Tenuto added two for Rutgers-Camden. Ellin scored three runs.
 
Fichter turned in another outstanding performance in relief, working 5.1 innings of six-hit ball. He allowed one earned run and two walks, while striking out five, to raise his record to 4-2. Junior Kyle Gaff (Gloucester, NJ/Gloucester) worked a perfect ninth, getting three ground outs, to record his sixth save.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Friday with a 3 p.m. game at Salisbury University. The Seagulls (28-4) are ranked fourth in both the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division III national poll and the D3baeball.com Top 25 poll. After they face Salisbury, the Scarlet Raptors will have played five of the top six teams in the D3baseball.com poll and four of the top six in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball rankings, in addition to several other teams in the polls or receiving votes.