CAMDEN, N.J. (April 26, 2025) – The Rutger University-Camden baseball team entered Saturday's New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader with its post-season fate in its own hands.
 
As the only NJAC doubleheader that wasn't postponed to Sunday by the rain, the Scarlet Raptors could punch their ticket to the NJAC playoffs with a sweep over last place William Paterson University. After splitting their final two regular-season games, however, now the Scarlet Raptors will be left playing a waiting game on Sunday to see the results for Rutgers-Newark and Stockton, the two teams that were tied with the Scarlet Raptors entering Saturday's action. If one of them ties Rutgers-Camden at 8-10 in the NJAC, they would hold a tie-breaker against the Scarlet Raptors.
 
Rutgers-Camden defeated William Paterson, 10-3, in the first game and lost the nightcap, 7-3.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished the regular season with a 25-15 overall record and an 8-10 mark in the NJAC. Paterson ended its season at 19-20 overall and 3-15 in the conference.
   
The Scarlet Raptors ripped 13 hits and rode the strong starting pitching of senior Chase Cooper in their opening-game victory. They took a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when sophomore designated hitter Austin Dubler hit a leadoff single and eventually scored on an RBI single from freshman left fielder Ryan Joseph.
 
The Scarlet Raptors added a pair of runs in the second inning on a solo home run by senior center fielder Steven Shaffer and a single from catcher Evan Carbone, who stole second base and eventually scored on an infield throwing error.
 
Cooper, meanwhile, was mowing down the Pioneers, pitching six innings of five-hit shutout ball, while walking one and striking out 10. He raised his record to 5-2.
 
Rutgers-Camden put the game away in a long sixth inning that included a 19-minute rain delay, five hits, three walks, a hit batsman and seven runs. The big blow in the frame was a three-run home run from junior second baseman Frankie Romond. Freshman shortstop Chris Smith and Shaffer both added two-run singles.
 
For the game, Joseph went 3-for-4, while Romond and Shaffer were both 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Shaffer and Dubler scored two runs apiece and Smith went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.
   
After the Raptors scored a first-inning run on a Dubler walk, stolen base, passed ball and a wild pitch, William Paterson quickly took the lead for good in the second inning. An infield single set up a two-run home run by sophomore designated hitter Ty Kobylakiewicz.
 
Paterson scored three more runs on five hits, all singles, in the third inning. Sophomore left fielder Stephen Kubis delivered two of those runs with a single to put the Scarlet Raptors in a 5-1 hole.
 
Rutgers-Camden cut its cap in the fifth inning when Dubler walked and Romond hit his second home run of the day, a two-run shot to right field. It was his team-leading eighth home run of the season.
 
Paterson, however, scored single runs in the sixth and eighth innings while senior Neel Telidevara earned his first save with 2.2 strong innings in relief, allowing only one hit and no runs or walks, while striking out three. He picked up the save for sophomore starter Robert Nathan (5-2), who allowed three hits, seven walks and three earned runs over 6.1 innings, while striking out three.
 
Raptor junior starter Ryan Rumsey (4-1) took the loss, working two-plus innings and allowing seven hits, two walks and five earned runs. He struck out two. Graduate student Jacob Shapley relieved Rumsey and turned in six strong innings of long relief, allowing six hits, two walks and two earned runs, while striking out eight.
 
Kubis went 3-for-3 with one run and two RBIs for William Paterson.
 
Rutgers-Camden collected only four hits in the game. Romond went 1-for-3 with one run and two RBIs, while Dubler was 1-for-3 with two runs.