NEWARK, N.J. (April 8, 2021) – A long day in northern New Jersey proved to be a profitable one for the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team.
 
The Scarlet Raptors started their New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader at 3 p.m. and finished after 9 p.m., but the time was worth it as Rutgers-Camden swept Rutgers-Newark, 9-5 and 7-4.
 
The sweep lifts the Raptors' record to 3-7 overall and evens their NJAC mark at 2-2. The Scarlet Raiders fall to 1-3 overall and in the NJAC.
 
The Scarlet Raptors play another NJAC doubleheader Saturday at New Jersey City University. They will bat as the home team in another "home" doubleheader on the road as they await the completion of their own stadium in Camden.
   
After allowing runs in each of the first four innings and trailing, 5-3, the Scarlet Raptors went to work in the fifth, taking the lead for good with four runs. The frame started when junior shortstop Jesse Gerdes was hit by a pitch, but it appeared to fizzle with back-to-back fly outs before the Scarlet Raptors strung together five straight hits. Senior designated hitter Matt Yanick, who had hit a solo home run in the second inning, drilled a RBI double and advanced to third on a single by sophomore first baseman R.J. McGettigan. The Raptors followed with consecutive RBI singles by freshman third baseman Auggie Uzdanovics, freshman catcher Nick Sylvester and sophomore second baseman Danny Vazquez.
 
Sylvester and Vazquez both went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the game, while Sylvester also scored a run. McGettigan was 2-for-3 with two runs and Yanick went 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and a pair of extra-base hits, a double and a home run. The homer was the 11th of his career, tying him for fifth place on the program's all-time list with Ricky Flores (2002-03).
 
Junior Colin Carr (1-1) picked up the win, working 5.1 innings and allowing four walks, six hits and five earned runs. He struck out three. Junior Stephen Brady earned the save with 3.2 shutout innings, allowing two hits and two walks, while fanning two.
   
Batting as the home team in the second game, Rutgers-Camden trailed, 3-2, until tying the game in the seventh inning on a RBI single by Gerdes. The Scarlet Raptors followed by sending nine men to the plate in a four-run eighth inning, which featured three walks, two errors and no hits. The go-ahead run came home on an error, while Sylvester drove home a run with a fielder's choice, Vazquez had a RBI ground out and Gerdes added a sacrifice fly.
 
Sophomore Jack Murphy worked the first seven innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs. He walked three and struck out eight without being involved in the decision. Junior Nick Listro (1-0) picked up the win in relief, working the final two innings and allowing one hit, two walks and one earned run in the ninth.
 
Newark senior starter Michael Matusz also worked seven innings without being involved in the decision. He allowed five hits, two walks and three runs, only two of them earned. He struck out five. Freshman Alex Couto, who allowed two runs (one earned) without retiring a batter in the eighth inning, took the loss.
 
Vazquez went 2-for-4 as the only Scarlet Raptor with multiple hits in the game. He went 5-for-9 in the twinbill, raising his batting average from .259 to .333.