NEWARK, NJ -- Junior first baseman Matt Lingo hammered a grand slam to highlight a power show by Rutgers-Newark which lifted the Scarlet Raiders past William Paterson, 14-10, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game in Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
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Lingo, who also had an RBI single to cap a two-run fourth inning rally, drove a pitch over the right centerfield wall for his fourth home run and first grand slam of the season to finish a six-run outburst in the fifth which staked Rutgers-Newark and senior reliever Robert Falk to a 14-6 lead.
Falk (1-0) got the win by going 3-1/3 innings in relief of starter Tom Abair who was rocked for four runs on five hits in 1-1/3 innings. Falk settled in to allow two runs on four hits which striking out one and walking no one to allow the Raiders (14-8, NJAC 5-3) to climb out of a 4-0 hole.
Junior rightfielder Anthony Yeswita, who went three for five and scored twice, had an RBI single to start the four-run third which gave the Raiders to lead for good at 6-4 before adding another RBI base hit in the middle of the fifth-inning explosion.
Junior second baseman Matt Lugo went four for six with a two-run single in the second inning which staked the Pioneers (12-11, NJAC 4-3) to an early 4-0 lead. Senior centerfielder John Elia's two-out, two-run single got WPU off to a 2-0 start.
Senior catcher Gerard Russomanno got Rutgers-Newark on the board in the bottom of the second with an RBI double off the base of the leftfield wall.
Junior third baseman Joe Furnaguera, who went two for four, delivered a two-run double off the leftfield wall to highlight the four-run third. Senior designated hitter Christian Diazwent two for three with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a pair of walks.
Senior centerfielder Brian Gill, who went two for five and scored three times, pushed across the first run of the fifth-inning rally with a bases-loaded fielder's choice.
WPU senior third baseman Will Courter, who went three for five, had a two-run double in the eighth and a triple in the second inning, missing the cycle by a home run. An RBI double by junior first baseman Marc Palestina started a two-run Pioneer rally in the top of the ninth which trimmed the final margin to four.
The Pioneers, who out-hit the Raiders 18-14, also got a lead-off home run by senior catcher Dan Hayes in the fourth.
The Raiders are slated to host DeSales at 3:30 p.m. in the stadium on Monday.
