CAMDEN, N.J. (April 15, 2022) – One good walk-off win deserves another.
 
One day after watching Stockton University earn a walk-off win against them down in Galloway, the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team returned the favor in a wild game that featured 30 hits, 10 walks, two hit batsmen, 10 pitchers, six lead changes and over three hours of playing time.
 
When the dust had cleared, it was a two-run pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth inning by junior Connor Van Dine that lifted the Scarlet Raptors to a thrilling 12-11 victory over the Ospreys in a New Jersey Athletic Conference marathon. The win came one day after Stockton beat Rutgers-Camden, 3-2, on its field in the bottom of the ninth.
 
The victory lifts Rutgers-Camden to 16-12 overall and 3-5 in the NJAC, while Stockton falls to 13-14-1 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
 
Stockton rallied from a 10-8 deficit with three runs in the top of the ninth inning, using four hits and a sacrifice fly to grab an 11-10 lead. In the bottom of the frame, the sixth Osprey reliever Robbie Ford, who was Stockton's shortstop for most of the game, got two quick outs and seemed poised to nail down a save. Freshman right fielder Frankie Romond kept the frame alive with a walk and freshman catcher Andrew Brown reached on an infield error that could have ended the game. After a balk advanced the runners, junior first baseman Jack Murphy was walked intentionally to load the bases. Van Dine followed with a single through the right side of the infield with the runners moving and, in a rush to try for a play at the plate, the ball kicked behind the Ospreys' right fielder, ending any chance to cut down the winning run.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored one run in the bottom of the first on a single by Brown. Stockton matched that tally in the second inning and pulled ahead with two runs in the fourth on a two-run single by Ford. Rutgers-Camden responded in the fifth inning with singles by Romond and Brown, setting the stage for Murphy to etch his name in the program record books. Murphy launched a three-run home run to right-center field for his ninth shot of the campaign. He tied the program's single-season home run record set in 2001 by Brian Murphy and tied in 2014 by Connor Hall.
 
The Raptors' 4-3 lead was short-lived, as Stockton tied the game in the sixth and exploded for four straight hits, including three consecutive doubles, to start the seventh inning. That three-run frame gave the Ospreys a7-4 advantage, but that lead also quickly evaporated.
 
Rutgers-Camden used four hits, four walks and a hit batsman to plate six runs in the bottom of the seventh and take a 10-7 lead. Junior designated hitter Jake Guglielmi and Romond both had two-run singles, while junior second baseman Danny Vazquez and Brown also singled home one run apiece.
 
Once again, order wasn't restored to the game, as Stockton plated one run in the eighth before the three-run ninth pulled it ahead, 11-10. Freshman catcher Giovanni Sciarrotta singled home the tying run, raced to third on a double by Ford and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, setting the stage for the Raptors' comeback.
 
Junior pitcher Jared Vega (2-1) earned the victory one day after suffering the loss at Stockton. Ford (0-1) took the loss despite both runs he surrendered being unearned.
 
Freshman third baseman Jordan Nitti and Ford both had three hits to fuel Stockton's 15-hit attack. Ford added three RBIs.
 
Brown led the Scarlet Raptors' 15-hit attack, going 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs. Romond was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs and Murphy went 1-for-3 with two runs, and three RBIs on his record-tying home run. Sophomore Dustin Bellis, who started in left field and moved to third base, went 2-for-4 with one run, Guglielmi went 2-for-5 with one run and two RBIs and Van Dine had the two-run pinch-hit single.
 
Sophomore center fielder Auggie Uzdanovics collected one hit to stretch his hitting streak to eight games, the longest current streak on the team.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to NJAC action Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. NJAC doubleheader at New Jersey City University.