ASTON, Penn. (March 27, 2019) – Susquehanna University first baseman Ben Burman went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI, while a trio of pitchers held Rutgers University-Camden to five hits as the River Hawks posted a 3-1 victory over the Scarlet Raptors in a non-conference baseball game here Wednesday.
 
The game marked the second straight day the Raptors played a home contest at the Maplezone Sports Institute. Rutgers-Camden (6-9) will play its home games away from Camden all season long due to the demolition of its former home, Campbell's Field.
 
Susquehanna (6-7) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on a pair of singles, sparked by Burman, who scored on a single by Lance Welsh. It was the only run off of Raptor sophomore southpaw Joseph Sponheimer, who worked the first five-plus innings, allowing only four hits and two walks, while striking out four. He left the game in the top of the sixth after walking the leadoff man, locked in a 1-1 tie.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored its lone run in the fourth after senior second baseman Chris Jones, pictured above, led off with a booming double to center field. He advanced to third on a sacrifice by junior left fielder Wayne Jackson and scored on a line drive sacrifice fly to center field by junior designated hitter Matt Yanick.
 
Burman was at the center of action again in the seventh inning when Susquehanna scored the eventual winning run off Raptor junior reliever Bobby Girgenti. With one out, Burman doubled to left center. he scored on a single to center by Welsh, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the game.
 
Girgenti allowed one run, two hits and two walks in two innings, while striking out two. He took the loss, dropping his record to 0-2 despite a stellar 1.62 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 16-2/3 innings.
 
Susquehanna tacked on its final run in the eighth after left fielder Steve Lorenz hit a one-out double and advanced on a wild pitch. Burman plated him with a two-out infield single, capping a day in which the River Hawks senior went 3-for-3 with four total bases, added a walk and made several outstanding plays at first base, saving his teammates errors with his ability to pick errant throws out of the dirt. He finished the game with 12 putouts.
 
Senior Evan McKenna, the first of three Susquehanna pitchers, worked six innings of two-hit ball to earn his first win of the year. McKenna (1-2) allowed one walk and one earned run, without striking out a batter.
 
Rutgers-Camden placed the tying runs in scoring position with two outs in the eighth inning off sophomore reliever Will Carey, aided by back-to-back singles from freshman center fielder Brett Yurgin and junior catcher Tyler Travis. Junior Bobby Grigas entered the game to end the threat with a fly out. He nailed down his second save of the season, retiring the final three Raptors in the ninth after Jones opened the frame with a single.
 
Jones, who went 2-for-4 with one run, now owns 186 career hits, fourth on the all-time Rutgers-Camden career list and only one shy of the second-place tie between Matt Calloway (2003-06) and Joe Brooks (2014-16). His double was the 38th of his career, tying for second on the all-time program list with Nate Buchter (2004-07) and only eight shy of the record set by Brian Murphy (2001-04).
 
Travis went 2-for-3 for the Scarlet Raptors and added his 43rd career walk. He now owns 83 career hits.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Thursday with a 4 p.m. makeup game at Moravian College. The game was originally scheduled for March 13, but was postponed due to weather.