CAMDEN, N.J. (February 22, 2025) – Senior third baseman Ryan Nutley went 4-for-8 with two triples and five RBIs in the doubleheader and senior first baseman Diego Salazar hit a tie-breaking home run in the nightcap as the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team swept Immaculata University in a season-opening twinbill for both teams here Saturday.
 
Rutgers-Camden won by scores of 11-4 and 10-6 against a strong program that has been to the NCAA tournament for three straight seasons.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Tuesday with a 3:30 p.m. game at Gwynedd Mercy University.
   
Senior Ethan Carpenter had a strong start in the opener, working 5.2 innings and allowing six hits and two earned runs to pick up the win. Carpenter didn't walk a batter and struck out eight in an outing that saw him retire 12 straight batters at one point.
 
Senior Daniel Robeson earned the save, working the final 3.1 innings and allowing three hits, two earned runs and one walk, while striking out six.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored its first run of the season in the second inning when Salazar hit a leadoff double and went to third on a one-out single by sophomore right fielder Brandon Petrick. He was squeezed home by sophomore catcher Julian Gonzalez.
 
A one-out single by Gonzalez sparked a three-run Raptor fourth inning, which included an RBI single by senior center fielder Steven Shaffer and a two-run triple by Nutley. Rutgers-Camden added two more runs in the fifth on an RBI double by Petrick and a run-scoring single by senior second baseman Giacomo Antonicello.
 
The Scarlet Raptors' seventh inning featured four hits and three runs. Nutley had a sacrifice fly in the frame, senior designated hitter Jack Murphy ripped an RBI double and senior shortstop Billy Richards singled home a run.
 
Rutgers-Camden added its final two runs in the eighth on an RBI single by junior left fielder Jacob Watson and another sacrifice fly by Nutley.
 
For the game, Shaffer went 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI, while Antonicello went 3-for-4 with three runs and one RBI. Petrick, Murphy and Gonzalez had two hits apiece and Nutley went 1-for-3 with four RBIs.
   
Rutgers-Camden built an early 6-2 lead behind the pitching of senior southpaw Chase Cooper, who worked five innings, allowing seven hits, two earned runs and one walk. He struck out four.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored four times in the third inning on three hits, a walk, a sacrifice and an error. Watson and Shaffer set the table with singles and junior second baseman Frankie Romond brought home Watson with a sacrifice and reached first base when Immaculata's pitcher tried to flip the ball to the plate in a vain attempt to get Watson. On a bad flip, Shaffer went all the way to third base. A double steal with Romond and Shaffer plated the second run and Nutley tripled home Romond before scoring on a wild pitch.
 
 
The Scarlet Raptors added a pair of runs in the fourth inning on a two-run double by Romond, but Immaculata rallied in the sixth and seventh innings against graduate student reliever Jacob Shapley. The Mighty Macs tied the game with a three-run seventh inning, capped by a run-scoring, game-tying triple by junior catcher Robert Woodward.
 
Moments later, Rutgers-Camden took the lead for good. Murphy led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and came home on a two-run home run to right field by Salazar. Singles by Nutley and a run-scoring single by junior catcher Evan Carbone plated a third run.
 
The Scarlet Raptors tacked on their final run in the eighth after Romond drew a one-out walk and sophomore Austin Dubler was inserted as a pinch runner. Dubler scored on a double by Murphy.
 
Nutley went 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI, while Watson and Murphy both had two hits. Romond had three RBIs and Salazar had two.
 
Shapley (1-0) picked up the win, working the final four innings. He allowed six hits, two walks and four earned runs, while striking out four.