Rutgers-Camden Athletics

Diego Salazar was enjoying another stellar season at Rutgers-Camden when his year, and career, was cut short with an injury in mid-April. He finished his four-year Scarlet Raptor career playing in 119 games with 104 starts, while collecting 103 hits, 71 RBIs, 46 runs and a .270 career batting average. Salazar produced 25 doubles and seven home runs, adding 43 walks and reaching base 15 times as a hit batsman. He posted a .362 on-base percentage and a .391 slugging percentage.
 
Salazar’s career fielding percentage of .981 is the 18th-best mark in program history for all players with a minimum of 200 total chances. He finished his career ranking among the program’s all-time leaders with 782 total chances (fifth), 712 putouts (fifth) and 62 double plays (sixth).
 
A Dean’s List student, Salazar also added numerous academic honors at Rutgers-Camden.
 
Academics: New Jersey Athletic Conference Academic Honorable Mention for the 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 scholastic years…Rutgers-Camden Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the 2021 Fall, 2022 Spring, 2022 Fall, 2023 Spring, 2023 Fall, 2024 Spring, 2024 Fall and 2025 Spring semesters…Dean’s List student.
 
Baseball 2025: Rutgers-Camden Raptor of the Week on March 3…Appeared in 30 games, starting 29…Had 10 doubles, two home runs, 21 runs scored and 17 RBIs…Posted a slash line of .276/.374/.391…Walked 15 times, was hit by a pitch twice and added one sacrifice fly…Stole two bases in five attempts…Led the team with 190 putouts and finished second with 18 double plays, despite missing the final 15 games of the season with an injury…Broke a 6-6 tie with a two-run seventh-inning home run in a win over Immaculata (Feb. 22, Game Two)…Went 4-for-4 with a double, one run and two RBIs against Gwynedd Mercy (Feb. 25)…Went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and two RBIs against Alvernia (April 15), including a second-inning double for his 100th career hit…Had nine multiple-hit games and five multiple-RBI games…Had four three-game hitting streaks during the season, including Feb. 22-25 (6-for-12, .500), March 1-6 (5-for-13, .385) and March 29-April 3 (4-for-10, .400)…Was working on a three-game hitting streak from April 14-17 (5-for-14, .357) when his season was ended with an injury…Defensively, collected double-digit putouts in five games, with a high of 12 against Mount Union (March 15), when he also added two assists…Had a high of three assists in the second game of a doubleheader at Rutgers-Newark (April 13).
 
Baseball 2024: Played in 37 of the team’s 41 games, starting 35 at first base…Hit .320 with 10 doubles, three home runs, 15 runs and 28 RBIs (tied for third on the team).…Added 10 walks and was hit by a pitch five times…Posted a .469 slugging percentage and a .384 on-base percentage…Tied for the club lead with three sacrifice flies…Stole one base in two attempts…Led the team with 292 putouts (the eighth-highest single-season mark in club history) and tied for the team lead with 25 double plays (the fifth-highest single-season mark in program history)…Added 20 assists… Sixth on the team with 11 multiple-hit games, including tied for first with four three-hit games…Second on the team with nine multiple-RBI games…Tied for the team’s second-longest hitting streak of the season with a 10-game streak from April 6-19 (14-for-39, .359, five runs, seven RBIs, four doubles, one home run and a .538 slugging percentage)…Also had a five-game hitting streak from March 12-16 (6-for-18, .333)…Collected the team’s first RBI of the season with a second-inning single in a 4-1 win over Immaculata (Feb. 24)…Went 3-for-4 with a double, one run and two RBIs against Penn State-Abington (March 1)…Had another three-hit game against Ursinus (March 25), going 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and two RBIs…Went 3-for-4 with one run and two RBIs against Wilson (April 22) and 3-for-5 against Montclair State (April 26, Game Two)…Had a home run in games against New Jersey City (March 30, Game Two), The College of New Jersey (April 7) and Montclair State (April 25, Game One)…Collected double-digit putouts in 11 games, with a high of 15 against Stockton (April 18)…Also had 14 putouts against Ursinus (Marh 24) and Wilson (April 22).
 
Baseball 2023: Started 30 of his 35 games…Hit .243 with 10 runs and 19 RBIs…Had five doubles and tied for second on the team with two home runs…Had a .346 slugging percentage and a .362 on-base percentage, aided by 16 walks and five times reaching as a hit batsman…Led the team with 201 putouts and added 16 assists…Tied for second on the team with 17 double plays…Had a six-game hitting streak from March 1-11, going 6-for-22 (.273) and added a five-game hitting streak April 11-16, going 5-for-16 (.313)…Had four multiple-hit games and four multiple-RBI games…Hit .333 (2-for-6) with the bases loaded, including a grand slam, and .636 (7-for-11) with a runner on third base and less than two outs…Advanced 30 runners in 68 chances (.441)…His two-out RBI walk in the 10th inning forced home the winning run in a 4-3 victory over Rutgers-Newark (April 7)…Had a huge game against William Paterson (April 22, Game One), going 1-for-2, getting hit by two pitches and producing five RBIs, including a sixth-inning grand slam, while adding 11 putouts…Had a season-high 15 putouts against Stockton (April 13), one of his eight games with double-digit putouts.
 
Baseball 2022: Played in 17 games, starting 10, while appearing at first base, third base, designated hitter and a pinch-hitter…Hit .171, but made the most of his hits: with seven hits he produced seven RBIs…Added three HBP and two walks for an on-base percentage of .261…Made his collegiate debut as a pinch-hitter and designated hitter against York (March 1), going 0-for-1 in his lone at bat, but adding a bases-loaded walk in his second plate appearance for his first collegiate RBI…His pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth inning produced the Raptors’ lone run in a 10-1 loss against Rutgers-Newark (April 11)…Made his first collegiate start as the DH against Neumann (April 12), going 1-for-3 with one walk and one RBI…Started at DH and went 1-for-3, including a two-run single, in a 9-5 loss to Arcadia (April 19)...Defensively, had his season high of 10 putouts as the starting first baseman against New Jersey City (April 16, Game Two) and had nine putouts while starting at first base against Cabrini (April 26).
 
High School: Graduated from Highland Park High School in 2021.
 
Club Teams: Baseball Warehouse
 
Personal: Born June 18, 2002…Enjoys playing baseball and spending time with his family….Psychology major at Rutgers-Camden who plans to play professional baseball or work as a sports psychologist…Diego is the son of Mary Carmen Colmenares and Rafael Salazar of Highland Park.