Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (April 20, 2018) – For 5-1/2 innings here Friday, the Rutgers University-Camden and Stockton University baseball teams were locked in a tight pitching duel between Scarlet Raptor senior Carter Fichter (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) and Osprey sophomore Ryan Moore.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, however, Moore started to tire during his first start of the season and the Scarlet Raptor bats pounced. Rutgers-Camden sent 11 men to the plate and took advantage of seven hits and two errors to plate seven runs, blowing open a 1-1 deadlock on the way to a 9-2 victory.
 
The win was the Raptors' third in as many days, raising their record to 19-10 overall and 8-4 in the NJAC. Stockton fell to 6-18 overall and 3-9 in conference play.
 
The big inning started with senior right fielder Brandon Cornelius (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek), whose leadoff single was the first of his two hits in the frame. Cornelius finished with a 2-for-4 day, raising his team-leading batting average to .398.
 
Junior second baseman Chris Jones (Washington Township, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep), playing in his 99th career game as a Scarlet Raptor, followed with a RBI double to right field, breaking the 1-1 tie. Sophomore shortstop Nolan Gerold (Merchantville, NJ/Camden Catholic) reached on a bunt single, pushing Jones to third base and allowing him to score on a sacrifice fly to center by sophomore designated hitter Matt Yanick (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra). Sophomore left fielder Wayne Jackson (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) followed with a single to right field and was replaced by freshman Rob Scanlan (Woolwich, NJ/Kingsway Regional), who pinch-ran and moved into the game in center field. Sophomore third baseman Matthew Stoots (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) picked up a RBI and reached on an infield error that scored Gerold. Freshman center fielder Billy Eisler (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic), who later moved over to left field, drilled a single up the middle to load the bases. One out later, freshman first baseman R.J. Concepcion (Audubon, NJ/Audubon) singled through the right side, plating two more runs and knocking Moore out of the game. Cornelius greeted sophomore reliever James Manos with a two-run double before the Ospreys escaped the inning, trailing 8-1.
 
Fichter, pictured above, hurled another strong game, working eight innings of four-hit ball, walking one, striking out 12 and allowing only one unearned run. He raised his record to 5-2.
 
Moore (1-2), who had pitched in only 9-1/3 innings over nine relief appearances entering his first start, ended up working 5-2/3 innings and allowing 10 hits and eight runs, only four of them earned. He didn't walk a batter and struck out five.
 
Both teams scored a run in the second inning, with two hits and an error leading to an unearned run for the Ospreys. Rutgers-Camden immediately tied the game in the bottom of the frame on back-to-back singles by Jones and Gerold, sandwiched around a wild pitch. Yanick plated Jones and reached base on an infield error.
 
Rutgers-Camden added its final run on a RBI single by Stoots in the seventh inning and the Ospreys scored once in the ninth against Raptor senior reliever Tommy Dolaghan (Harrison, NJ/High Tech).
 
Eisler, Cornelius, Jones and Gerold had two hits apiece for the Raptors, while Concepcion, Cornelius, Yanick and Stoots each collected two RBIs. Jones scored a pair of runs.
 
The Scarlet Raptors play an 11:30 a.m. NJAC doubleheader Saturday at Montclair State University.