Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (April 8, 2018) – Senior pitcher Tommy Dolaghan (Harrison, NJ/High Tech) restored some order to a crazy non-conference baseball game between two strong teams, and Rutgers University-Camden broke open a tie game with eight runs over the fifth and sixth innings on its way to an 11-4 victory over Stevens Institute of Technology here Sunday afternoon.
 
Dolaghan hurled 4-2/3 scoreless innings of long relief as the Scarlet Raptors won their 10th game in the last 11 outings, raising their record to 14-6. Stevens falls to 16-12.
 
Coming on the heels of busy action which saw Rutgers-Camden play four New Jersey Athletic Conference games in three days and Stevens play five Empire 8 contests in the same span, Sunday's game featured pitching by committee, played on a cold, windy day. The game featured 15 hits (11 by Rutgers-Camden), 17 walks, seven wild pitches and five hit batsmen over the course of three hours and 15 minutes. Yet it was Dolaghan who provided the spark to help the Scarlet Raptors break a 3-3 tie and coast to the victory, and he did it first with his defense.
 
Rutgers-Camden batted around in the first inning and scored three runs on only one hit – a two-run single by sophomore shortstop Nolan Gerold (Merchantville, NJ/Camden Catholic). The Scarlet Raptors drew five walks in the frame. Stevens, however, bounced back with a three-run third to tie the game. An inning later, the Ducks loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman with only one out, when Dolaghan was summoned into the game to quell the threat. The first batter he faced hit a sharp shot to the mound and Dolaghan snared it to start an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play.
 
Dolaghan, pictured above, was in control the rest of his outing, finishing with 4-2/3 innings of one-hit shutout ball, walking three and striking out one. A senior who transferred to Rutgers-Camden last year after playing two seasons at Sussex County Community College, Dolaghan earned his first decision of the season and first win as a Scarlet Raptor. He worked through the eighth inning before freshman Nick Kulikowski (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) hurled the final inning in his second collegiate outing. Kulikowski allowed one walk, struck out one and allowed one unearned run.
 
Rutgers-Camden broke open the game with a five-run fifth inning, aided by five hits and a hit batsman. Gerold broke the deadlock with a sacrifice fly and sophomore left fielder Wayne Jackson (Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township) ripped a two-run triple.
 
The Scarlet Raptors added three more runs in the sixth inning on two hits, two walks, a hit batsman and two wild pitches. Gerold had a RBI single in the frame and sophomore first baseman John DeSantis (Southampton, NJ/Seneca) delivered a sacrifice fly. The other run scored on a wild pitch.
 
For the game, Gerold went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, while DeSantis had three RBIs and one run scored, despite going 0-for-2. Junior second baseman Chris Jones (Washington Township, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) and senior right fielder Brandon Cornelius (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) both went 2-for-5, with Cornelius scoring twice and Jones scoring once. Jackson was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored, while sophomore designated hitter Matt Yanick (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra) and freshman catcher R.J. Concepcion (Audubon, NJ/Audubon) both went 1-for-2 with three runs scored. Concepcion reached base twice on walks, while Yanick was hit twice.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Tuesday with another non-conference home game, facing DeSales University at 3:30 p.m.