GALLOWAY, N.J. (April 18, 2019) – The Rutgers University-Camden baseball team rallied for six runs in the top of the eighth inning and went on to outlast Stockton University, 9-6, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Thursday afternoon.
 
The Scarlet Raptors hike their record to 15-15, the first time they have been at .500 since a 10-10 mark following the first game of an April 6 doubleheader at New Jersey City University. They are 6-5 in conference play.
 
The Ospreys fall to 13-12 overall and 3-8 in the NJAC.
 
The Ospreys held a 6-3 lead heading into the eighth inning, aided by three unearned runs off of Scarlet Raptor junior starter Bobby Girgenti, who worked five innings and allowed eight hits, three walks and five runs, only two of them earned. He struck out three.
 
In the eighth, Rutgers-Camden sent 11 men to the plate and used six hits, two errors and a walk to score six times. The Scarlet Raptors opened the inning with three straight singles by sophomore left fielder R.J. Concepcion, freshman center fielder Brett Yurgin and junior third baseman Matthew Stoots, with a throwing error added in after Yurgin's hit. Stoots plated one run with his single and senior first baseman Chris Jones followed with a sacrifice fly. Sophomore Rob Scanlan ran for Stoots and moved up on a single by junior designated hitter Matt Yanick. Junior shortstop Nolan Gerold loaded the bases with a walk and junior second baseman John Guccione delivered the second sacrifice fly of the inning. Freshman Garrett Warner ran for Yanick and the Raptors re-loaded the bases when sophomore right fielder Billy Eisler reached on an error. Junior catcher Tyler Travis continued the frame with a two-run single to center, scoring Gerold and Warner. Concepcion added the sixth run with a RBI single to plate Eisler.
 
Rutgers-Camden had taken a 2-0 lead in the second inning on four hits, including a two-run double by Eisler. Stockton, however, bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the frame on four hits and an error. They tacked on single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings to set the stage for the Scarlet Raptors' big comeback.
 
Yanick went 3-for-4 with one run and Yurgin, pictured above, was 3-for-5 with two runs to lead the Scarlet Raptors' 15-hit attack. Concepcion and Jones both added two hits, with Jones hiking his career mark to 207 hits, one shy of the program's all-time record set by Brian Murphy (2001-04).
 
Sophomore Mike Paciocco (1-0) picked up his first collegiate win by working two innings of five-hit ball in relief. He allowed one run and struck out one. Senior Vince Sturtevant worked the next 1-2/3 innings of three-hit shutout ball before senior Ian Scheidemann entered the game with two on and two outs in the ninth inning to nail down the save, getting his lone batter on a ground out. It was the first career save for the Raptors' All-American ace.
 
Rutgers-Camden was scheduled to host Stockton on Friday in another NJAC game, but that contest has been postponed and moved to Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Maplezone Sports Institute in Aston, Penn. The Raptors also were going to host Kean University in NJAC action Saturday, but that doubleheader has been moved to Kean's turf field on Saturday for a 12 p.m. start. All changes were made due to the forecast and Rutgers-Camden's temporary home fields this season.