CAMDEN, N.J. (May 1, 2023) – With rainouts and makeup games to close out the regular season in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, the schedule has become jumbled at the end of the road. Monday's game in Camden was a big part of the ever-changing landscape, as the makeup game from Friday's rainout was originally scheduled to be held at The College of New Jersey.
 
With TCNJ's field still reeling from the weekend downpours, Rutgers-Camden hosted an extra game on its schedule, although the Lions were designated as the home team for box score purposes.
 
TCNJ senior pitcher Ben Amon hurled four perfect innings to start the game and finished with a seven-hitter as the Lions defeated the Scarlet Raptors, 6-3. Amon didn't walk any batters, struck out six and only allowed one earned run.
 
The Lions' victory leaves both teams with 8-8 NJAC records heading into the final day of the regular season Tuesday. Rutgers-Camden plays a doubleheader at Montclair State University (10-6 in the NJAC), looking to pass the Red Hawks in the seedings if it can sweep, while TCNJ hosts Ramapo College (7-9 in the NJAC) in another key doubleheader. Also factoring in the race for the six-team playoffs is Stockton University (6-10), which hosts Rutgers-Newark in a doubleheader.
 
Rutgers-Camden stands at 22-16 overall, while TCNJ is 18-20.
 
 
Amon (5-2) retired the first 12 batters he faced until sophomore third baseman Andrew Brown singled to lead off the fifth inning. After he was erased on a double play, sophomore left fielder Frankie Romond singled. They were the only hits off Amon until the eighth inning, when the Raptors bunched four hits and a big TCNJ error to score three runs, two of them unearned.
 
By that time, the Lions had built a 6-0 lead. TCNJ scored once in the first inning on a pair of hits and a sacrifice fly by junior designated hitter Ryan Goodall. That was the only run of the game in a pitching duel between Amon and Raptor senior Ethan Carpenter until the Lions exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
TCNJ's big frame opened when sophomore second baseman Mike LaGravenis beat out a grounder to first base, outracing Carpenter to the bag on the exchange. A walk to sophomore shortstop Justin Marcario and a bunt single by graduate student catcher Chris Reeder loaded the bases before Goodall delivered his second sacrifice fly of the day. With two outs, senior first baseman Jack Felipe hit a two-run double, senior center fielder Sebastian JnoBaptiste doubled him home and sophomore right fielder Zach Weiner had an RBI triple to make it a 6-0 game, ending Carpenter's day.
 
Carpenter (5-3) finished with 4.2 innings, allowing 11 hits, two walks and six earned runs. He struck out two.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored its three runs in the eighth after a leadoff triple by Romond. He scored on a single by sophomore first baseman Diego Salazar. One out later, junior shortstop Billy Richards reached on an infield error. With two outs, senior second baseman Danny Vazquez singled and junior center fielder Auggie Uzdanovics dropped a two-run single into right field.
 
The Scarlet Raptors put their leadoff man on base in the ninth inning on a single by Brown, but Amon retired the next three batters for his complete game victory.
 
Weiner went 3-for-4 with one RBI to pace TCNJ's 14-hit attack. LaGravenis, Reeder, Felipe and JnoBaptiste had two hits apiece.
 
Rutgers-Camden collected seven total hits, with Brown and Romond each going 2-for-4.