CAMDEN, N.J. (April 3, 2023) – Freshman catcher Evan Carbone hit a walkoff double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to plate sophomore right fielder Frankie Romond with the winning run as the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team rallied to defeat Cabrini University, 7-6, in non-conference action here Monday night.
 
The win lifts the Scarlet Raptors to 13-7, while the Cavaliers fall to 15-9.
 
Rutgers-Camden trailed most of the way before tying the game in the bottom of the eighth inning at 6-6. Senior second baseman Danny Vazquez was hit by a pitch to force home sophomore pinch-runner Sebastian Vega with the tying run.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Romond had a one-out single off Cabrini senior Zack Brook, who had started the game in left field before moving to the mound as the Cavaliers' final pitcher. After Brook struck out his second batter of the inning, Carbone delivered a double to left center, plating Romond from first base with the winning run. It was the first double and only the third RBI of Carbone's young career, producing his first walkoff moment.
 
Carbone's game-winning hit made a winner out of Raptor senior reliever Jared Vega (1-0), who worked the final two innings. He allowed only one hit while striking out three in his shutout stint.
 
Cabrini scored a run in the second inning on an RBI single by Brook and added two more in the fourth, including a solo home run by sophomore third baseman Ben Houghton.
 
Rutgers-Camden tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, with senior pitcher/designated hitter Jack Murphy starting the rally when he was hit by a pitch. Romond followed with a walk and, after a fielder's choice, sophomore first baseman Diego Salazar was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Junior shortstop Giacomo Antonicello walked to force home one run. Freshman right fielder Jacob Watson, who earlier in the day was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week for the second time this season, tied the game with a two-run single.
 
Cabrini bounced back with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to grab a 6-3 lead before Rutgers-Camden sliced its deficit to one run. The Raptors scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning after Watson drew a leadoff walk, stole his third base of the game, and advanced to third on a single by Vazquez. Consecutive wild pitches scored Watson and advanced Vazquez to third. He scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore third baseman Andrew Brown, setting the stage for the dramatic eighth and ninth innings.
 
Watson led the Raptors' eight hit attack with a 2-for-3 game, adding one run, two RBIs, two walks and his three stolen bases. He increased his team-leading total to 23 steals (in 24 attempts), leaving him only three stolen bases shy of tying the program's single-season mark for stolen bases, set in 2002 by Chris Godish.
 
The Raptors return to action Tuesday with a non-conference 3:30 p.m. game at Keystone College in La Plume, Pennsylvania. They will play at Christy Mathewson Field, named for the Keystone alum and Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher.