MAHWAH, N.J. (April 6, 2021) – Senior Sarah Byrnes was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference's Pitcher of the Week on Monday, and during the opener of Tuesday's doubleheader, she showed why.
 
Byrnes fired a five-hit shutout as the Scarlet Raptors defeated Ramapo College, 6-0, in Game One. The Roadrunners, however, turned the tables in the nightcap after spotting Rutgers-Camden a four-run first-inning lead. Ramapo rallied to tie the game in the fifth and won in the bottom of the seventh, 5-4, on a two-out RBI double by senior second baseman Carli Egan.
 
The split leaves the Raptors' record at 3-3 overall and 3-1 in NJAC play. Ramapo is 1-5 and 1-3.
 
Rutgers-Camden will host Montclair State University in a NJAC doubleheader Saturday. The games are scheduled to start around 4 p.m., following a NJAC semifinal women's soccer game earlier in the afternoon.
   
The reigning NJAC Pitcher of the Week tossed a five-hit shutout, walking three and striking out 10 as the Scarlet Raptors won the opening game. Byrnes worked out of a serious jam in the second inning when the Roadrunners loaded the bases on a pair of singles, sandwiched around a walk, with nobody out. She struck out the next three batters to leave the bases loaded. She also allowed a leadoff double in the fourth before fanning the next three hitters.
 
The game marked the third time at Rutgers-Camden that Byrnes has collected double-digit strikeouts, including a high of 11 exactly two years earlier to the day against Montclair State. She also struck out 10 last season against New Paltz on March 8 in one of the few games that was played during the pandemic-shortened season.
 
The Scarlet Raptors scored the only run Byrnes needed in the first inning on a one-out double by senior shortstop Nina Arroyo and a two-out RBI single by senior first baseman Marissa Beebe. A single and an error set up a two-run single by Arroyo in the fifth inning, padding the Raptors' lead to 3-0.
 
Rutgers-Camden broke the game open in the top of the seventh with three runs, aided by three hits and an error. Freshman catcher Olivia Bull doubled home the first run, Arroyo added a RBI double and Byrnes capped the frame with a sacrifice fly.
 
Arroyo led the offense with a 3-for-4 game. She drove home three runs and scored one.
   
The Scarlet Raptors appeared prime for a sweep after scoring four unearned runs in the first inning, aided by an error, two walks and a three-run double from sophomore second baseman Cate Petrucelli.
 
Ramapo finally broke through against Byrnes in the third inning, plating three runs on a walk and three hits, including a two-run double by Egan. The Roadrunners tied the game in the fifth on a pair of doubles, including a RBI two-bagger by freshman designated player Mahogany Wheeler.
In the bottom of the seventh, freshman catcher Avery Bartolomeo had a leadoff single and was sacrificed to second. One out later, Egan delivered her game-winning double.
 
Sophomore right fielder Anna Messina, Egan and Wheeler each had two hits for Ramapo, which collected 10 hits off Byrnes in her 6.2-inning complete game in the nightcap. Byrnes (3-2) walked one and struck out two, while allowing five earned runs.
 
Junior Megan Giesecke (1-2) was the winning pitcher in the nightcap, allowing only five hits and four unearned runs. She walked four and struck out eight.
 
Petrucelli, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, was the only Scarlet Raptor with multiple hits.
 
For the doubleheader, Arroyo went 4-for-7 and Petrucelli was 3-for-6 to lead the Rutgers-Camden attack. Junior designated player Alexis Schauer and Beebe both had two hits in the twinbill.