UNION, N.J. (April 5, 2025) – Sophomore catcher John Chiusano had a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth inning of the nightcap as the nationally-ranked Kean University baseball team swept Rutgers University-Camden, 15-0 and 3-2, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader here Saturday.
 
Kean, ranked 13th in the latest ABCA.org Top 30 poll and 14th in the most recent D3baseball.com Top 25 poll, improved to 22-5 overall and 6-0 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden fell to 17-8 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Monday with a 3:30 p.m. non-conference game at Keystone College.
   
The Cougars exploded for 22 hits and 15 runs in the opening game, turning a tight 1-0 lead into a lopsided win with 14 runs from the fifth through seventh innings. Kean's seven-run seventh featured seven hits and a pair of hit batsmen.
 
Kean scored a single run in the second inning on three hits, including an RBI single by sophomore second baseman Nick Sellari. That run held up until a three-run fifth, a four-run fourth and a seven-run seventh opened up the game.
 
Senior lefty Jason Gilman held the Scarlet Raptors to three hits over seven innings to raise his record to 8-0. Two of those hits were singles by junior second baseman Frankie Romond, while the other was a single by senior third baseman Ryan Nutley.
 
Junior left fielder Tyler Stone went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs for Kean, while senior center fielder Kyle Adorno went 3-for05 with three runs and four RBIs. Senior catcher CJ Tomalavage went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
   
The Cougars loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth inning on a pair of hits and an intentional walk. Chiusano followed with a single up the middle for the winning run.
 
The hit spoiled a nice comeback by the Scarlet Raptors, who trailed, 2-0, before tying the game in the top of the seventh inning. With one out, sophomore shortstop Austin Dubler had an infield single and stole second. One out later, he advanced to third when senior left fielder Giacomo Antonicello reached on an infield error and stole second base. Romond followed with a two-run game-tying single to center.
 
Rutgers-Camden collected only four hits off a pair of Kean hurlers, with sophomore Jason Basilicata (4-0) picking up the win with three innings of relief. He allowed only two hits and two unearned runs while striking out three.
 
Stone went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI for the Cougars.
 
For the day, Romond went 3-for-7 with two RBIs, while Nutley was 2-for-5.