WAYNE, N.J. (March 29, 2026) – The Rutgers University-Camden baseball team entered the 2026 season as the defending New Jersey Athletic Conference champions and the Scarlet Raptors got their NJAC campaign off to a good start here on Sunday.
 
Rutgers-Camden swept past William Paterson University, 6-4 and 8-3, as both teams opened their NJAC schedule a day late due to a weather-related postponement from Saturday.
 
The win lifts the Scarlet Raptors to 10-9 overall and 2-0 in the NJAC, while Paterson falls to 6-11 and 0-2. It was the Raptors' first sweep in the series since 2018. The teams had split their conference doubleheader the last three seasons.
 
Rutgers-Camden plays a 3:30 p.m. non-conference game at Widener University on Tuesday before returning to NJAC play on Thursday at The College of New Jersey.
   
Rutgers-Camden won the opening game behind another strong performance from junior Austin Wokock (4-1), who worked six innings of eight-hit ball, walking two, allowing two earned runs and striking out eight.
 
William Paterson cut its deficit to 6-4 with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth, but junior Gavin Cunard closed the game by inducing a ground out to earn his third save of the season. He hurled one-third of an inning, allowing two hits and hitting one batter.
 
Paterson scored a first-inning run off Wokock, but Rutgers-Camden tied the game in the fourth inning. Sophomore designated hitter Jake Slusarski walked and junior center fielder Jacob Watson reached on a bunt single. Sophomore shortstop Chris Smith moved the runners up with a sacrifice, setting up a sacrifice fly by sophomore first baseman Ryan Joseph.
 
Rutgers-Camden broke the 1-1 deadlock in the sixth inning when junior second baseman Austin Dubler and Slusarski singled and advanced on another sacrifice by Smith. Joseph drilled a two-out, two-run single.
 
The Pioneers cut the gap to 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Rutgers-Camden scored twice in the eighth inning on two hits, two walks and an error. Senior catcher Evan Carbone singled home one run, with a second run scoring on the play on a throwing error.
 
Slusarski had an RBI single in the ninth inning for the Raptors' final run.
 
Dubler, Slusarski, Watson and Joseph collected two hits apiece for Rutgers-Camden, with Joseph driving home three runs.
   
The Scarlet Raptors took the lead for good with a three-run first inning, sparked when sophomore right fielder Gavin McCaffrey reached on an error to open the game. Dubler followed with a single, chasing McCaffrey to third base, from where he scored on a wild pitch. Dubler stole second and advanced to third on a ground out by Slusarski, setting the stage for an infield RBI single by Watson. Watson stole second – the program-leading 99th steal of his career – and scored on a single by Smith.  
 
Rutgers-Camden added an unearned run in the second inning and tacked on a third-inning run on a double by Smith, a ground out and a squeeze bunt by junior left fielder Matt McAleer.
 
Smith had another double in the fifth inning and scored on a McAleer single, while the Raptors' sixth-inning run came on a double by Joseph and an RBI single from Smith. Slusarski hit his team-leading fourth home run for the Raptors' final run in the eighth inning.
 
Junior D.J. Juliano (2-1) earned the win, hurling seven innings of eight-hit ball. He allowed two walks and three earned runs, while striking out seven. Junior Sean Glenn pitched two scoreless innings in relief, allowing two hits and striking out one.
 
Smith led the Raptors' 15-hit attack, going 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Dubler went 3-for-6 with one run, giving him five hits on the day, and Joseph went 2-for-6 to finish with four hits in the dou