Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

AUBURNDALE, Fla. (March 16, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Camden baseball team saw its weeklong losing streak stretch to four games early Friday with a 10-8 loss to Knox College at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The Scarlet Raptors, however, broke out of their skid with an impressive performance later in the day, outlasting traditional Division III baseball powerhouse Eastern Connecticut State University, 4-2.
 
Rutgers-Camden, 5-5, will play its final game at the RussMatt tourney on Saturday when it battles Beloit College at 9 a.m. The Raptors lost to Beloit, 6-5, on Monday to start their four-game losing streak.
   
The Prairie Fire (2-5) exploded for five runs in the bottom of the first inning, built an 8-0 lead through four innings and held on to hand the Scarlet Raptors their fourth straight defeat.
 
The Scarlet Raptors broke the shutout bid with two runs in the fifth and added three more in the sixth inning to slice their deficit to 8-5, but Knox added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Rutgers-Camden rallied for three runs in the top of the eighth before Prairie Fire closer Auggie Ward shut down the Raptors' comeback bid.
 
Knox starter Stryker Davis (1-1) worked six innings, allowing three earned runs to collect the win. He struck out five.
 
Four Scarlet Raptors had two-hit games: freshman first baseman R.J. Concepcion (Audubon, NJ/Audubon), sophomore catcher Tyler Travis (Berlin, NJ/Eastern Regional), sophomore shortstop Nolan Gerold (Merchantville, NJ/Camden Catholic) and senior right fielder Brandon Cornelius (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek). Cornelius collected four RBIs, hitting two-run home runs in both the fifth and eighth innings.
   
Your team ace is the pitcher you rely on to stop long losing streaks, and that's exactly what junior righty Ian Scheidemann (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) did for the Scarlet Raptors in their second game Friday.
 
Scheidemann raised his record to 2-0 with a three-hitter to shut down Eastern Connecticut State University. He allowed only one earned run and walked two, while striking out five and lowering his season ERA to 1.23.
 
A walk, a single and an infield error gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Scarlet Raptors bounced right back and tied the game in the bottom of the frame with an unearned run of their own.
 
Eastern Connecticut senior first baseman D.J. Scavone touched Scheidemann with a two-out solo home run in the fourth inning, giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead. It was the last hit that the Scarlet Raptor hurler allowed all day. The only Warriors to reach base the rest of the way came on a sixth-inning error (promptly erased on a double play) and an eighth-inning walk as Scheidemann faced only one batter over the minimum through the final 5-1/3 innings.
 
Rutgers-Camden, meanwhile, was being constantly frustrated by Warriors junior starter Jordan Muchin, who worked 7-1/3 innings and, despite allowing 10 hits, was stranding numerous Raptors on base. He struck out 11 and only allowed two unearned runs until the eighth inning. The second unearned run tied the game in the sixth. With one out, Cornelius singled, stole two bases and scored on a throwing error by the ECSU catcher.
 
Rutgers-Camden plated the deciding runs in the eighth inning to break up the pitching duel between Scheidemann and Muchin. Sophomore left fielder John Tedeschi (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) opened the frame with a single and was sacrificed to second by junior second baseman Chris Jones (Washington Township, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep). Gerold plated Tedeschi with a single, knocking Muchin out of the game. One out later, sophomore third baseman Matthew Stoots (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) delivered a RBI double to score Gerold.
 
Concepcion, pictured above, went 3-for-4 to lead the 11-hit Raptor attack. Cornelius went 2-for-4 with one run scored.