Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (April 13, 2018) – They say in baseball you're only as good as your next day's starting pitcher, and Rowan University junior Danny Serreino proved the validity of that statement here Friday.
 
After watching his teammates surrender 17 hits in an 11-0 loss against Rutgers-Camden in Glassboro on Thursday, Serreino turned the tables in the second game of the home-and-home series at Campbell's Field. The righty tossed a three-hit shutout, striking out 12 and allowing only one walk, as the Profs defeated the Scarlet Raptors, 3-0, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
The victory lifts Rowan, ranked No. 3 in this week's ABCA/Collegiate Baseball poll and No. 7 in the D3baseball.com poll, to 20-5 overall and evens the Profs' NJAC mark at 4-4.
 
The loss was only the second for Rutgers-Camden in its last 14 games, dropping the Scarlet Raptors to 16-7 overall. Rutgerws-Camden is 6-2 in the NJAC, tied for first place with The College of New Jersey. The Scarlet Raptors own the tie-breaker over the Lions by virtue of a 2-0 record in the head-to-head series.
 
Serreino (3-2) had to be sharp, as he was locked in a terrific pitching duel with Rutgers-Camden senior Carter Fichter (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial), with the game scoreless heading into the sixth inning. Fichter (4-2), pictured above, allowed only six hits and one walk, while striking out four in 6-1/3 innings. Rowan finally broke the scoring ice in the sixth with a pair of runs off Fichter.
 
Prof junior shortstop Dillon Mendel led off the top of the sixth with a double to center field and moved to third on a single to left by sophomore second baseman Alex Kokos. After a ground out moved Kokos to second, both runners advanced on a wild pitch, plating Mendel. Senior left fielder Monny Strickland singled home Kokos.
 
Rowan added an insurance run in the ninth inning off Raptor sophomore Daniel Beebe (Berlin, NJ/Eastern Regional). Senior right fielder Kyle Golla drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on an errant pickoff throw. He scored when the next batter, junior center fielder Danny Shane, laced a triple down the left field line.
 
Serreino, meanwhile, was sharp from the first inning, when he struck out four batters, with one reaching on a wild pitch. He allowed only three singles, coming in the second inning to junior second baseman Chris Jones (Washington Township, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep), the third inning to sophomore third baseman Matthew Stoots (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) and in the eighth inning, when sophomore designated hitter Matt Yanick (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra) opened the frame with a single to the shortstop hole. With two outs in the eighth, Raptor freshman center fielder Billy Eisler (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic) drew a walk, but Serreino worked out of the inning with a strikeout. It was the only frame where the Scarlet Raptors put a pair of runners on base.
 
Rowan finished with nine hits off the combination of Fichter and Beebe, with Shane and Strickland both going 2-for-4 with one RBI.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to NJAC action Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. doubleheader at Ramapo College.