HOBOKEN, NJ – Junior lefthander Kevin Matawa pitched his way through a shaky start for the win and Rutgers-Newark played virtually error-free baseball to post a 7-4 win over Stevens on a chilly, wind-blown Dobbelaar Field.
NCAA Statistics
Matawa (1-1) gave up seven of his 11 hits allowed and all three of his runs in the opening two innings before settling in to give the Scarlet Raiders (1-3) six full innings. He struck out two and walked no one before giving way to freshman lefty Billy Cerruti. The rookie walked three of the first five batters he faced, but settled down to strike out six while yielding only a lead-off single in the ninth to the Ducks.
In tough fielding conditions, only a borderline error on a wind-blown pop up to centerfield – which fell close to the second base bag – with two out in the ninth prevented Rutgers-Newark from turning in a flawless fielding performance. Stevens was charged with four errors in the gusting winds and chilly conditions.
Senior leftfielder Doug Ford and freshman second baseman Matt Connors collected three hits and scored two runs apiece to pace the Raider attack. Ford was three for five while Connors went three for three, bunting for singles twice, doubled down the leftfield to lead off the sixth and stealing a base.
Knotted 3-3, the Raiders got the winning runs in the fifth when senior first baseman Dan Zika was hit by a pitch ahead of back-to-back singles by Ford and junior designated hitter Christian Diaz. The ball was thrown away on Diaz's single to left, allowing both baserunners to score.
Connors got Rutgers-Newark on the board by walking to lead off the game and, after a pair of ground balls advanced him to third, scoring on a passed ball.
After Stevens tied the game in the bottom of the first, Connors dropped down a squeeze bunt to plate sophomore third baseman Joe Furnaguera who had reached on a lead-off single. After stealing second base, Connors scored on a outfield error to make it 3-1, but the Ducks scored two runs on five hits in the bottom of the second to tie the game for a second time.
The Raiders iced the game in the eighth when freshman pinch hitter Matt Citro singled in a run before Furnaguera brought in the final run with a sacrifice fly into foul territory in right.
Rutgers-Newark travels to Baltimore, Maryland, on Monday to play a 3:30 p.m. game against Johns Hopkins.
