Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (April 28, 2016) – If a berth in the six-team New Jersey Athletic Conference eludes the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team this season, the Scarlet Raptors will remember the key game that slipped through their fingers on a rainy, raw day here Thursday at Campbell's Field.
 
Montclair State University scored eight runs in the top of the ninth inning to stun the Scarlet Raptors, 10-3, and slip Rutgers-Camden back into a tie for sixth place in the NJAC standings entering the final three conference games this weekend. That tie doesn't favor the Raptors, as they are deadlocked with William Paterson University, both with 7-8 records in the conference. The Pioneers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of a doubleheader sweep over the Scarlet Raptors on April 2, with the second win coming with a ninth-inning comeback.
 
Rutgers-Camden plays a 3:30 p.m. game at Montclair State University Friday and finishes its NJAC schedule Saturday with a doubleheader at conference-leading Kean University. Paterson hosts Ramapo College Friday before closing its season with a twinbill at New Jersey City University Saturday. The Gothic Knights are last in the NJAC and just picked up their first conference win Thursday.
 
The Red Hawks, who improve to 19-16 overall, sent 12 men to the plate in their big ninth inning. They capitalized off five hits, two errors, a hit batsman and a walk, scoring eight runs, seven of them unearned, off Scarlet Raptor senior closer Kyle Gaff (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester City). Gaff (2-1) took the loss in 1.1 innings of work, allowing five hits, one walk, a hit batsman and eight runs, only one of them earned.
 
With the Scarlet Raptors clinging to a 3-2 lead, the inning opened with a hit batsman, an error and a walk as the Red Hawks quickly loaded the bases. A single through the right side of the infield by junior rightfielder Ryan Long (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) tied the game. Junior designated hitter Matt Long (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) followed with an RBI single to give Montclair State the lead for good. The big blow in the inning came on a three-run pinch-hit double by freshman Dom Lampasona (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex), which turned a 6-3 lead into a 9-3 margin.
 
Trailing, 3-0, Montclair State got back into the game in the eighth inning, scoring two unearned runs on a pair of hits and an error, while chasing Raptor senior starter Billy Jackson (Buena, NJ/Buena Regional). Jackson ended up working 7.1 innings, allowing seven hits and the two unearned runs, while striking out six.
 
Until the eighth, Jackson was in command and shutting down the Red Hawks, while the Scarlet Raptors built a 3-0 lead. Rutgers-Camden scored once in the first inning on singles by senior second baseman Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and junior leftfielder Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), followed by a sacrifice fly from junior rightfielder Doug Carter Jr. (Union, NJ/Union).
 
The Raptors added two more runs in the fifth off MSU junior starter Donald Cusick (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley). The inning started with a single and stolen base by junior centerfielder Zach Ellin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) and a walk to junior designated hitter Andujar Cedeno (Bronx, NY/Escuela Nueva Esperanza, DR). Junior Andrew Biggs (Millville, NJ/Millville) ran for Cedeno and a sacrifice by freshman third baseman Ray Taylor (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood) advanced the runners. Tenuto followed with a two-run single to right. Following Tenuto's single, senior first baseman Joe Sigismondi (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional) was hit by a pitch for the 48th time in his career, setting a new program record. He had been tied at 47 with Tom Cusano (1991-94).
 
Montclair State ended up getting 13 hits in the game, including three apiece by senior leftfielder Keith Murphy (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Boro) and freshman shortstop Justin Epifanio (Egg Harbor Township, NJ/Egg Harbor Township).
 
Junior southpaw Josh Felix (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) picked up the win, pitching a perfect eighth inning.
 
Tenuto had two of the five Raptor hits on the day, while scoring once and driving in two.