Box Score

ASTON, Penn. (April 18, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Camden baseball team broke out of its mini-slump in a big way with an offensive explosion here Wednesday, and nobody had a better day than senior right fielder Brandon Cornelius (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek).
 
Cornelius went 6-for-6 to tie a program record for hits in one game, leading a 21-hit attack as the Scarlet Raptors defeated Neumann University, 16-7, in a non-conference game. The victory snapped the Raptors' four-game losing streak and hiked their record to 17-10, while Neumann fell to 15-15.
 
The Raptor' 21 hits was their highest output of the season, passing the 20 they had in a 15-8 win over FDU-Florham on March 27. Their 16 runs tied their highest scoring output of the year, a 16-3 win over Olivet College, on March 11, and their six doubles tied their output in the FDU-Florham game for a season high.
 
It was Cornelius, however, who did the most damage, with his six hits tying the program's single-game mark set by Jerry McCullough against Philadelphia Pharmacy on April 16, 1959 and later tied by Jon Hydock against Mount St. Vincent on March 17, 2011. Cornelius, pictured above, had three doubles among his explosion, tying another single-game program that was shared by six players before he added his named to the list. The last to accomplish that feat was his current teammate, John Tedeschi (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) against New Jersey City University in the first game of a doubleheader April 29, 2017.
 
Cornelius' big day raised his already-high .354 season batting average to a lofty .392. He tacked on four runs and four RBIs in his huge performance.
 
There were plenty of hits to go around for the Scarlet Raptors, who scored at least one run in every inning except the third and seventh. Junior second baseman Chris Jones (Washington Township, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) went 3-for-6 with two runs and three RBIs, while sophomore shortstop Nolan Gerold (Merchantville, NJ/Camden Catholic) went 3-for-6 with two RBIs, one of them coming on a sacrifice fly.
 
Freshman center fielder Billy Eisler (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic) went 2-for-4 with two runs from the leadoff spot, sparking the whole offensive outburst with a double to open the game and lead to a two-run first inning that put the Raptors on top to stay. He also reached base twice as a hit batsman.
 
Freshman first baseman R.J. Concepcion (Audubon, NJ/Audubon) went 2-for-6 with two runs and two RBIs, while sophomore third baseman Matthew Stoots (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) went 2-for-4 with two runs. Sophomore catcher Tyler Travis (Berlin, NJ/Eastern Regional) went 1-for-4, walked three times and scored four runs.
 
Freshman Mike Paciocco (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) made his first collegiate start, working 2-2/3 innings and allowing four hits, three walks and three earned runs. He struck out two and was relieved by junior Vincent Sturtevant (Audubon, NJ/Audubon) who picked up the victory during his 3-1/3 innings of middle relief. Sturtevant, now 2-0 after earning his first collegiate win on April 10 at DeSales University, allowed three hits, two walks and one earned run, while striking out one.
 
Raptor freshman Mike Thompson (Williamstown, NJ/Paul VI) finished the game in his collegiate debut, working three innings and allowing two hits and three unearned runs. He nailed down a save in his first appearance, while walking one and striking out five.
 
After Rutgers-Camden scored two runs in the first inning, the Raptors added three in the second, aided by a two-run double from Cornelius. Holding a 5-0 lead, they watched Neumann plate three runs in the third to make it a 5-3 contest. It was a 7-4 game heading into the fifth, when the Scarlet Raptors hit the Knights with the first of two straight three-run innings to break the game open.
 
Rutgers-Camden's 21-hit attack was aided by nine walks, two hit batsmen (both Eisler) and six Neumann errors.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to New Jersey Athletic Conference action at 3:30 p.m. Thursday with a game at Stockton University. The Raptors host the Ospreys Friday at 3:30 p.m. in the back end of a home-and-home NJAC series.