CAMDEN, N.J. (Feb. 27, 2022) – When the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team opened up its season at its new on-campus field here Sunday, the only things that might have been colder than the temperature and wind were the bats of visiting SUNY-Oneonta.
 
That cold offense came courtesy of outstanding pitching by the Scarlet Raptors on a blustery, chilly day.
 
Junior pitcher Jack Murphy and sophomore Nick Diaz combined to defeat Oneonta, 8-2, in the opener of a doubleheader before junior John Kasper hurled a three-hit shutout as the Scarlet Raptors completed their sweep with a 4-0 win in the nightcap.
 
Both games were scheduled for seven innings.
 
The Scarlet Raptors host York College of Pennsylvania in a non-conference game Tuesday at 3 p.m.
   
In a final score that wasn't indicative of a tight game, Rutgers-Camden broke open a 3-2 game with a five-run bottom of the sixth inning.
 
Murphy worked the opening four frames and left with the lead after the Scarlet Raptors scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to surge ahead, 3-2. He allowed six hits, three walks and two earned runs, while striking out five, to notch the win. Diaz collected the save with three scoreless innings of one-hit ball, fanning two.
 
Rutgers-Camden junior second baseman Danny Vazquez singled and eventually scored on a passed ball, giving the Raptors a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Oneonta, however, collected two runs on four hits in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead. The margin would have been larger, but a terrific relay from freshman right fielder Frankie Romond to Vazquez to junior third baseman Connor Van Dine cut down a Red Dragon trying to stretch a double into a triple during the frame.
 
The Raptors took the lead for good in the fourth inning on a two-out walk to Van Dine, a single by senior first baseman R.J. McGettigan, a run-scoring wild pitch and a RBI single by sophomore center fielder Auggie Uzdanovics.
 
Four hits and two walks helped the Raptors explode for five runs in the sixth inning, sparked by a leadoff double from senior left fielder Garrett Warner. Vazquez and senior shortstop Jesse Gerdes both added two-run singles in the frame.
 
For the game, Vazquez and junior catcher Jake Guglielmi both went 2-for-4.
   
Kasper, a transfer from Camden County College, made an impressive Rutgers-Camden debut, allowing only two singles, a double and a walk in his complete-game shutout. He struck out five. Both of the singles came in the third inning, when Oneonta also was robbed of a hit by a terrific catch in right field by Romond. The double came with two outs in the fifth, and his first-inning walk was erased by a double play.
 
The Raptors scored the only run Kasper needed in the first inning on a two-out triple by Guglielmi and a double by Murphy.
 
Freshman catcher Andrew Brown's leadoff single in the second inning led to another Raptor run when he eventually scored on a bases-loaded walk to Gerdes.
 
Rutgers-Camden added its final two runs in the third inning, sparked by a leadoff double by Murphy. Warner walked and went to second on a sacrifice by Brown. Van Dine followed with a two-run double.
 
Murphy went 2-for-2 and Van Dine was 2-for-3 in the nightcap.