MAHWAH, NJ – Rutgers-Newark posted its 20th win of the season in the opener, 11-7, but Ramapo took game two, and with it the sixth and final berth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, 5-2, on Jeff Maund Field. 

NCAA Box Scores & Play-by-Play
R-N 11, Ramapo 7     Ramapo 5, R-N 2

The Scarlet Raiders (20-15, NJAC 8-10) were knocked out contention on the final Saturday of the regular season by the Roadrunners (19-16, NJAC 9-9) for the second consecutive season. 

Senior rightfielder Brian Gill and sophomore second baseman Matt Connors each went three for five to pace a 14-hit Raider attack in game one, but junior first baseman Matt Lingo was the only Rutgers-Newark player to get more than one hit in game two as Ramapo's sophomore righthander Tim Hannes turned in a complete-game six hitter. He struck out six and walked five to improve to 4-2 on the season. 

The Raiders exploded for eight runs in the third inning with Connors and Gill providing the spark. Connors opened the inning with a walk in front of a double by Gill. To cap the spree, Connors drove in two runs with a single to left before Gill's second double of the inning plated Connors with the last – and deciding – run. Junior designated hitter Anthony Yeswita and junior third baseman Joe Furnaguera had RBI singles in the inning and sophomore centerfielder Michael DiCenso drew a bases loaded walk. 

Sophomore righthander Ryan Williams (6-1) got the win, giving up five runs on eight hits while striking out seven and walking two in 7-2/3 innings. Senior Robert Adams closed out the victory, giving up two runs on three hits in the bottom of the ninth after getting the final out in the eighth. 

Connors had a bases-loaded RBI single and Gill beat out a possible double-play grounder to plate another run as the Raiders tacked on two runs in the seventh to make it 10-1. 

A two-out double to left center field by Lingo and a pinch-hit single to center by senior Matt Halligan produced the final Raider run in the top of the eighth. 

In the nightcap, junior righthander Jack Winters (2-4) yielded just three runs on eight hits while striking out two and walking one, but Hannes shut down the Rutgers-Newark attack. Winters was chased after a lead-off home run by freshman rightfielder Daniel Mauriello followed by a single in the sixth. The home run proved to be the game winning run, giving Ramapo a 3-1 edge. 

The Raiders scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Gill in the fifth and an infield grounder off the bat of DiCenso in the eighth – when Rutgers-Newark left the bases loaded. 

Rutgers-Newark will now wait for news of a possible berth in the ECAC Metro Championship playoffs that start on May 8.