UNION, N.J. (May 1, 2025) – Down to its last three outs, the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team exploded for six runs in the top of the ninth inning here Thursday to stun the top-seed Kean University Cougars, 7-4, in the opening game of the double-elimination New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament.
 
The weekend portion of the NJAC tournament moves to Montclair State University, where the sixth-seeded Scarlet Raptors (26-15) will face the fourth-seeded Red Hawks (24-15-1) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Montclair State dropped into the losers' bracket Thursday with an 8-5 loss against The College of New Jersey. In the other first-round game, Rowan University crushed Ramapo College, 16-4.
 
In addition to the Rutgers-Camden/Montclair State game on Saturday, Kean (34-7) will face Ramapo (26-13) in a losers' bracket game at 12 p.m. Rowan (30-8) and TCNJ (24-15-1) will battle in a winners' bracket game at 7 p.m.
 
The sixth-seeded Scarlet Raptors only qualified for the NJAC playoffs on Sunday after a pair of doubleheader sweeps went their way, with one of them being Kean's sweep over Rutgers-Newark. Kean, which went 17-1 in winning the NJAC's regular-season title and earning the top seed, also entered Thursday's playoff game ranked sixth nationally in both the D3baseball.com Top 25 and the ABCA Division III Top 30 polls.
 
After clinging to a 2-1 lead for most of the game, it appeared Kean picked up the insurance runs it needed in the bottom of the eighth inning on a two-run double by sophomore first baseman Dan Reistle. The Scarlet Raptors, however, had other ideas.
 
Senior center fielder Steven Shaffer opened the inning with an infield single, reaching second base when the ball was thrown away for an error. That hit knocked out Kean freshman Lucas White, who had shut down the Scarlet Raptors on six hits while working into the ninth. Sophomore reliever Jason Basilicata (4-1) was greeted with an RBI single from sophomore right fielder Brandon Petrick, making it a 4-2 game. One out later, senior pinch-hitter Billy Richards was hit by a pitch and lifted for sophomore pinch-runner Matt McAleer. Sophomore designated hitter Austin Dubler singled home Petrick, cutting the gap to 4-3. After junior second baseman Frankie Romond walked to load the bases, Basilicata got a fly out to leave the Raptors down to their last out.
 
Graduate student first baseman Jack Murphy, the program's career RBI leader (148), followed with a bases-clearing double down the left field line to vault the Scarlet Raptors into a 6-4 lead. The double was the 17th of the season for Murphy, setting a new program record. Murphy, who also holds the program's career doubles mark with 48, had been tied with two other players for the single-season mark at 16.
 
Senior third baseman Ryan Nutley capped the frame with a single through the left side, scoring Murphy.
 
The big rally made a winner out of graduate student Jacob Shapley (3-2), who worked 1.1 innings of one-hit shutout ball in relief of senior Daniel Robeson. Robeson had an outstanding start against the powerful Cougars, working into the eighth inning in a tight game before the Cougars tacked on two runs to take a 4-1 lead to the ninth inning. Robeson finished with 7.2 innings pitched, allowing seven hits, two walks and four runs, while striking out three.
 
The Scarlet Raptors drew first blood with a run in the top of the second inning, stringing together three singles off of Kean starter White. Murphy hit a leadoff single and went to third base on a two-out single by Petrick. Sophomore catcher Julian Gonzalez followed with an RBI single to right field.
 
Kean bounced right back in the bottom of the second inning, tying the game on a leadoff home run by senior designated hitter CJ Tomalavage. Two outs later, senior third baseman Brett Hilsheimer singled, stole second and scored on a single by junior right fielder Justin Teixeira. That was all the scoring until the late fireworks.
 
Dubler, Murphy, Shaffer and Petrick had two hits apiece for Rutgers-Camden, with Murphy adding two runs scored and three RBIs.