CHAMBERSBURG, Penn. (March 7, 2023) – Senior pitcher Ethan Carpenter hurled 4.1 strong innings in the nightcap of a doubleheader to help the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team earn a non-conference split here Tuesday against Wilson College.
 
Rutgers-Camden lost the seven-inning first game, 6-5, and won the second game, 6-1, in a game called after five innings due to darkness.
 
The split leaves the Scarlet Raptors with a 3-2 record, while the Phoenix stand at 6-3.
 
The Scarlet Raptors begin a southern trip later this week, stopping at the University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg, Virginia) for a doubleheader Saturday on their way down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They will play five games next week at The Ripken Experience during spring break.
   
After watching a 5-1 lead disappear, Wilson scored the eventual winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a triple by fifth-year catcher Michael Marrale and a sacrifice fly by grad student left fielder Gerald Buchanan.
 
The Scarlet Raptors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on four walks, including a RBI walk to senior second baseman Danny Vazquez, but the Phoenix produced six hits in a five-run bottom of the second to grab a 5-1 lead. Senior second baseman Dean Mercer plated two of those runs with a single.
 
Rutgers-Camden tied the game with a four-run fourth inning, aided by three hits, two walks and a pair of hit batsmen. The Raptors received RBI doubles by freshman left fielder Jacob Watson and sophomore third baseman Frankie Romond, sandwiched around a run-scoring single by Vazquez. The tying run was plated when sophomore right fielder Chris Bonafiglia picked up an RBI after being hit with the bases loaded.
 
Wilson sophomore third baseman Doc Daniels had three of the 11 hits for the Phoenix, while Vazquez went 2-for-3 to lead the six-hit Scarlet Raptor attack.
 
Freshman Seth Smart (2-0) earned the win with 2.2 scoreless innings in relief (one hit, one walk, two strikeouts), while grad student Jacob Whittington collected his second save by retiring both batters he faced in the top of the seventh inning, leaving the tying run stranded at third base.
 
Rutgers-Camden junior Joey Rappaport (0-1) took the loss in relief of senior Jack Murphy, hurling 2.1 innings and allowing two hits and the tie-breaking run. He struck out two.
   
The Scarlet Raptors grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on three consecutive hit batsmen and a two-run single by sophomore first baseman Andrew Brown. They added two more runs in the third on a hit batsman, a walk, a RBI double by sophomore third baseman Diego Salazar and a two-out RBI bunt single by junior center fielder Auggie Uzdanovics.
 
Rutgers-Camden padded its lead with another run in the fourth on a double by Watson and a sacrifice fly by Romond to back Carpenter's stellar pitching. Carpenter (1-0) didn't allow a hit until Marrale opened the fourth inning with a solo home run to left field, but the Scarlet Raptors got that run back in the bottom of the frame on a solo homer to left by senior catcher Jake Guglielmi.
 
Carpenter, who pitched at Camden County College before coming to Rutgers-Camden last season, allowed three hits, one walk and the one run in his 4.1-inning outing as he picked up his first decision as a Scarlet Raptor. He struck out three.
 
Freshman Gavin Cunard, who was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie Pitcher of the Week on Monday, closed out the game in the fifth inning by retiring the only two batters he faced.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished the game with six hits by six different players. Brown, who went 1-for-2 with one run and two RBIs, led the attack.