Box Score

UNION, N.J. (April 29, 2018) – With a first-round home game in the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs on the line in the last regular-season NJAC contest of the year, the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team knew it had to take care of business on Sunday at Kean University.
 
The Scarlet Raptors didn't waste any time.
 
Rutgers-Camden exploded for five runs before Kean even had a chance to hit and then added three more runs in the second inning. The Scarlet Raptors went on to rip the Cougars, 17-0, behind a 19-hit attack and six one-hit shutout innings by senior Carter Fichter (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial).
 
The victory lifts the Scarlet Raptors to 24-13 overall and helps them clinch the third seed in the upcoming NJAC playoffs with a 12-6 regular-season conference record. They will host fourth seed Rowan University Tuesday in a 3:30 p.m. game at Campbell's Field.
 
NJAC Playoff Information                    Ticket information

Kean fell to 19-21 overall and 9-9 in the NJAC.

NJAC Playoff Bracket

The Scarlet Raptors batted around in both the first and seventh innings as they matched their highest scoring output of the year, also coming against the Cougars, in a 17-6 win in Camden Thursday.
 
With one out in the first inning, sophomore catcher Tyler Travis (Berlin, NJ/Eastern Regional) drew a walk to start the ball rolling before the Raptors ripped five consecutive singles. They had hits from freshman first baseman R.J. Concepcion (Audubon, NJ/Audubon), senior right fielder Brandon Cornelius (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek), junior second baseman Chris Jones (Washington Township, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep), sophomore shortstop Nolan Gerold (Merchantville, NJ/Camden Catholic) and sophomore designated hitter Matt Yanick (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra). Cornelius and Jones had one RBI apiece, while Yanick's single drove home two. Before the frame ended, Raptor leadoff hitter and left fielder Billy Eisler (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic) plated another run with a bases-loaded walk.
 
Gerold and Yanick both singled home a run in the Raptors' three-run second inning, while freshman center fielder Rob Scanlan (Woolwich, NJ/Kingsway Regional) plated the other run with a fielder's choice. The second inning included another single by Jones, giving him 200 total bases for his stellar Raptor career. He is the 11th player in program history to reach 200 total bases. Jones added a single in the fourth inning and a two-run single in the seventh inning, giving him 202 total bases and passing Mike Morris (200 total bases from 2004-07) to move into 10th place on the career chart.
 
In that six-run seventh inning, the Raptors sent 10 batters to the plate and collected four walks and three hits, including a double by Eisler, Jones' two-run single and a bases-clearing triple by sophomore third baseman Matthew Stoots (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton).
 
While the Raptors' offense was piling up the runs, Fichter (pictured above) was mowing down the Cougars, allowing only a first-inning double by right fielder Nick Polizzano. Only two other players reached base against Fichter, both on errors, during his six innings as he raised his record to 6-2. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter. The victory was his 14th career win, tying for fourth on the program's all-time list with Tommy Potts (2011-14).
 
Jones paced the Raptors' attack with a 4-for-5 day, collecting three RBIs and three runs scored. Gerold went 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI, while Yanick was 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs Stoots was 2-for-5 with three RBIs and Concepcion went 2-for-4 with two walks and three runs scored.