CAMDEN, N.J. (April 27, 2023) – On a day when the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team celebrated its two departing seniors, the Scarlet Raptors made Senior Day special for another reason.
 
With a 12-4 victory over The College of New Jersey here Thursday, Rutgers-Camden took another step toward reaching the six-team New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs. Rutgers-Camden now finds itself alone in fifth place in the NJAC with an 8-7 conference record, one game ahead of both 7-8 TCNJ and Ramapo with three regular-season games to play. The Scarlet Raptors are also only one game behind the third-place tie of 9-6 Montclair State and William Paterson.
 
Rutgers-Camden plays a 3:30 p.m. game Friday at TCNJ on the back end of the home-and-home conference series and is scheduled to finish the regular season Saturday, weather permitting, with a doubleheader at Montclair State.
 
Thursday's big win leaves Rutgers-Camden with a 22-15 record overall and snaps a five-game losing streak in its series with TCNJ. The Lions, meanwhile, fell to 17-20 overall.
 
Senior Day photo gallery

Prior to the game, the Scarlet Raptors honored a pair of players who spent five years with the program, given the extra eligibility due to the pandemic-shortened season. Pitcher Jared Vega, closed out the game with a scoreless ninth inning, allowing only a harmless two-out single. The other departing player, R.J. McGettigan, was given his first at bat of the season as the starting designated hitter after being sidelined the whole year recovering from an injury.
 
After TCNJ scored a first-inning run on a sacrifice fly by catcher Chris Reeder, Rutgers-Camden roared back with five runs in the bottom of the second. The Raptors were aided by three hits, a walk and two TCNJ errors.
 
Sophomore left fielder Chris Bonafiglia opened the big frame with a walk, one of four walks he worked in the game. Senior catcher Jake Guglielmi singled and junior shortstop Billy Richards reached on an error when the throw to first base was dropped on his sacrifice bunt. A fielder's choice by freshman outfielder Jacob Watson plated the tying run and a bunt single by senior second baseman Danny Vazquez brought home another run. Junior center fielder Auggie Uzdanovics reached on a two-base infield error that scored Watson from second base and moved Vazquez to third. One out later, senior Jack Murphy returned to the DH spot for McGettigan and ripped a two-run single.
 
The Lions cut the gap to 5-3 with a pair of unearned runs in the third inning, but Rutgers-Camden opened up the game with two runs apiece in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. The Scarlet Raptors scored two in the fourth on a two-run single by sophomore third baseman Andrew Brown. The fifth inning featured four walks, a hit batsman, an RBI fielder's choice by Richards and a sacrifice fly by Watson. In the sixth, Guglielmi unloaded a two-run home run after Murphy was hit by a pitch.
 
Sophomore Daniel Robeson worked six strong innings, allowing six hits and four runs, only two of them earned. He walked three and struck out six while raising his record to 5-2.
 
TCNJ freshman starter John DiCostanzo (1-3) took the loss, allowing seven hits and seven runs – four earned – in four innings, while walking four and fanning two.
 
Rutgers-Camden's nine-hit attack included two hits apiece by Watson and Guglielmi. Watson, Brown, Murphy, Guglielmi and Richards all had two RBIs, while Watson, Bonafiglia, Guglielmi and sophomore first baseman Frankie Romond scored two runs apiece.