FLEMINGTON, NJ – It was an ill wind that helped William Paterson hit three home runs in the early going on its way to a 16-5 New Jersey Athletic Conference win over Rutgers-Newark at Diamond Nation. 

William Paterson 16, Rutgers-Newark 5 

But in the end, it was the combination pitching by Pioneer ace Brett Carroll (4-2) and a 20-hit assault that overwhelmed the Scarlet Raiders (16-16, NJAC 6-5). 

Senior third baseman Joe Furnaguera went three for four with an RBI single and a double for Rutgers-Newark and junior second baseman Matt Connors was two for four with a double, but Carroll handcuffed the Raiders on eight hits and just two earned runs while striking out 12 and walking no one in eight full innings for work. 

Former Scarlet Raider Zac Rose had a monster day, hammering a wind-blown lead-off home run in the second before delivering a towering grand slam down the leftfield line in the sixth to finish three for five. Junior first baseman Frank Franco wasn't far behind with a three-run homer to right in the first, a lead-off home run in the three-run third and a ground rule double in the sixth. 

A storm front carried gusty winds toward rightfield during the first four innings and William Paterson made the most of the situation. The first three home runs were all jet stream assisted against Raider losing pitcher Tom Abair (4-3). 

On the other side, Carroll faced just 11 batters in the first three innings while posting five strikeouts. Carroll threw 119 pitches before giving way to junior reliever John Slootmaker in the ninth. 

William Paterson (15-14-1, NJAC 5-6) never let off the gas, adding four runs in the sixth and four more in the top of ninth to end any hopes of the Raider comeback.

Rutgers-Newark's first three runs came after a pair of throwing errors by WPU third baseman Matt Norton. 

In the fifth, sophomore catcher Anthony Palladino reached second on a Norton throwing error before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by junior rightfielder Michael Cassese. Freshman leftfielder Robert Kistner lift a sacrifice fly to centerfield to deliver the Raiders' first run. 

In the sixth, junior centerfielder Michael DiCenso single before a throw error by Norton put DiCenso on third and senior designated hitter Anthony Yeswita on third. Furnaguera singled to center to plate DiCenso with one out before Palladino slapped a bloop single down the rightfield line to score Yeswita.
Connors drove a double into the right centerfield gap in the seventh before scoring on a two-out single through the middle by junior shortstop Patrick Reitemeyer. 

Furnaguera doubled down the leftfield line to open the eighth, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by freshman first baseman Ryan Maloney. 

Rutgers-Newark visits New Jersey City on Friday for a 3:30 p.m. NJAC game before returning to the Diamond Nation complex for league doubleheader against The College of New Jersey at noon on Saturday.