CAMDEN, N.J. (April 20, 2024) – The Rutgers University-Camden baseball team completed a stellar comeback with four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning of the opening game and Ramapo College scored the winning run in the ninth inning of the nightcap as the two teams split a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader here Saturday.
 
The split leaves Ramapo with a 21-12 record overall and a 9-5 mark in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden is right behind the Roadrunners with an 8-6 conference mark, while standing at 22-12 overall.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Monday at 6 p.m. with a rescheduled non-conference home game against Wilson College.
   
Trailing, 8-1, entering the bottom of the eighth inning, Rutgers-Camden needed a miracle rally.
 
The Scarlet Raptors got it, scoring four runs in both the eighth and ninth innings to pull out a walkoff comeback. Senior center fielder Auggie Uzdanovics delivered the game-winning single in the ninth inning, just beyond the reach of Ramapo's diving right fielder, but there were so many key plays leading to that moment.
 
Ramapo broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run home run by graduate student third baseman Tyler Guadagno. The Roadrunners scored four times in the seventh inning and once in the eighth to take an 8-1 lead.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, senior second baseman Danny Vazquez opened the frame getting hit by a pitch. Senior third baseman Ryan Nutley singled and senior designated hitter Jack Murphy was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Junior first baseman Diego Salazar delivered a sacrifice fly to center field and senior shortstop Billy Richards singled in another run. Uzdanovics capped the four-run rally with a two-run double to left field.
 
In the bottom of the ninth inning, junior right fielder Steven Shaffer had a leadoff infield single. Vazquez followed with a single and Nutley delivered an RBI double.to make it an 8-6 game. Murphy collected his second milestone in two days as his two-run game-tying single raised his career total to 101 RBIs, making him only the fifth player in program history to reach 100 RBIs. On Friday at Stockton, he became only the 13th player in program history to pass 200 total bases.
 
Freshman Austin Dubler ran for Murphy and Salazar was hit by a pitch. A double play left Dubler at third base with two outs and Uzdanovics plated the winning run with his single to right field.
 
Nutley went 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI for the Scarlet Raptors. Murphy was 2-for-3 with one run and three RBIs and Uzdanovics went 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Vazquez was 22-for-4 with three runs scored.
 
Freshman D.J. Juliano, the last of three Rutgers-Camden pitchers, earned his first collegiate decision with the win, hurling a scoreless and hitless ninth inning. He walked one and struck out one.
   
After the Roadrunners struck on a leadoff home run in the first inning, Rutgers-Camden answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame, aided by one hit – an RBI double from Salazar – and three errors.
 
Ramapo finally tied the game with a run in the fifth inning and took the lead on an RBI double from senior first baseman John Higgins in the sixth.
 
Rutgers-Camden tied the game in the bottom of the eighth inning when sophomore left fielder Jacob Watson had an infield single, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. After Murphy walked and Dubler ran for him, the Raptors tried to work a double steal, with Dubler taking off to swipe second. Ramapo tried to sniff out the strategy, but a throw back to third, attempting to pick off Watson, was errant, allowing Watson to score the tying run.
 
Ramapo won the game in the top of the ninth when consecutive batters were hit by a pitch with one out. Following a fly out, junior catcher Jesse Swartout delivered an RBI single to center field for what proved to be the winning run.
 
Ramapo senior Gerard Chiricolo (3-1) picked up the win in two innings of relief. He allowed one hit, one walk and one unearned run, while striking out four.
 
Raptor sophomore Gavin Cunard (2-1) took the loss, allowing one hit, two hit batsmen and one run in one inning of work. He struck out one.
 
Ramapo graduate student shortstop Zack Bailey, who had three hits in the opener, added two hits in the nightcap as the only player with multiple hits.