CAMDEN, N.J. (April 19, 2022) – The Arcadia University baseball team came to Camden Tuesday night ranked sixth and ninth in a pair of national baseball polls.
 
The Knights showed their resiliency as well as their power as they rallied from an early four-run deficit to defeat Rutgers University-Camden, 9-5, in a non-conference game on a chilling Tuesday night.
 
Arcadia, ranked No. 6 in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Division III poll and No. 9 in the D3baseball.com poll, improves to 29-4. The Knights have won seven straight games.
 
Rutgers-Camden falls to 17-14.
 
After Arcadia scored a first-inning run, Rutgers-Camden tallied five runs in the third inning to grab an early 5-1 advantage. That inning opened with a double by sophomore left fielder Dustin Bellis. He was sacrificed to third by junior second baseman Danny Vazquez and scored as sophomore center fielder Auggie Uzdanovics reached on an error, collecting an RBI in the process. Freshman right fielder Frankie Romond had a bunt single, and after he advanced on a ground out, junior first baseman Jack Murphy drew an intentional walk. Junior catcher Jake Guglielmi followed with a two-run double to right field and freshman designated hitter Diego Salazar lined a two-run single to left-center field.
 
Slowly, the Knights chipped into that lead. Arcadia scored an unearned run in the fourth inning and added another run in the fifth on a single, a hit batsman, a wild pitch and an RBI fielder's choice. The visitors made it a one-run game with a single tally in the seventh as junior second baseman Justin Massielo doubled, advanced on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch.
 
Trailing, 5-4, Arcadia went ahead to stay in a five-run eighth inning, which started with a one-out hit batsman and ended when junior left fielder Ryan Smolen hit the first grand slam at the new Camden Athletic Complex, an inside-the-park grand slam. That shot came moments after junior shortstop Alex Madera walked to force home the tying run.
 
Madera finished the game 2-for-4 with three runs and one RBI. Sophomore third baseman Emilio Pallante went 2-for-5 with one run and Smolen was 1-for-3 with his grand slam.
 
Guglielmi led the Raptors' 11-hit attack, going 3-for-5 with one run and two RBIs. Murphy was 2-for-3 with one run and Bellis was 2-for-4 with one run. Salazar went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
 
Junior Zach Steiger (4-0), the fifth of six Arcadia pitchers, earned the win with one scoreless, hitless inning. Sophomore Zachary Cerveny (3-2) took the loss, working 1.2 innings and allowing five earned runs.
 
Rutgers-Camden hosts another nationally-ranked team on Thursday when it returns to New Jersey Athletic Conference competition. Rowan University, ranked No. 7 in the d3baseball.com poll and No. 9 in the Collegiate Baseball Division III poll, visits Camden for a 3:30 p.m. game.