HOBOKEN, NJ – Junior rightfielder Anthony Yeswita belted two of the Scarlet Raiders' four home runs to pace Rutgers-Newark to a 14-6 win over Stevens on Dobbelaar Field.
NCAA Box Score & Play-by-Play
Sophomore centerfielder Michael DiCenso and freshman designated hitter Chris Ballester also added the first home runs of their careers to powered the Raider attack.
Yeswita, who went three for five, hammered a three-run shot to centerfield in the third to knot the score at 4-4 and capped the 19-hit R-N outburst with a two-run blast to finish off a four-run ninth.
DiCenso's two-out, three-run shot gave the Raiders a 7-6 lead in the fifth before Ballester's one-out, two-run blast to centerfield gave Rutgers-Newark (4-1) some breathing room. DiCenso finished three for four and scored twice while Ballester went two for five on the day.
Junior righthanded reliever John Kuder (1-0) got the win after coming on with one out in the second in relief of sophomore starter Billy Cerruti who had control problems. Kuder scattered five hits and struck out one while allowing two runs over 5-2/3 innings before handing the ball over to senior righthander Robert Adams to start the eighth.
Kuder got the Raiders out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the second by getting two fly ball outs after the Ducks had pushed across three runs against Cerruti who walked six batters in 1-1/3 innings.
Adams allowed only a two-out single in the eighth before issuing a one-out walk in the ninth. Freshman Nick Evans, in his first career appearance, hit the first batter he faced and walked the second before the double-play combo of shortstop Patrick Reitemeyer to second baseman Matt Connors to first baseman Matt Lingo ended the game.
Senior leftfielder Brian Gill, who went three for five with a walk and three runs scored, gave the Raiders an early lead when he scored on an infield grounder by junior third baseman Joe Furnaguera.
Rutgers-Newark not packs for its annual spring break trip to California where it will play nine games in 10 days, starting with an 11 a.m. (PDT) game against Menlo at the University of Redlands on Friday.
