WAYNE, NJ – Rutgers-Newark junior lefthander Billy Cerruti shut out William Paterson on six hits in seven full innings of work as the Scarlet Raiders downed William Paterson, 8-5, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference baseball game in Pioneer Baseball Park. 

Rutgers-Newark 8, William Paterson 5

Cerruti (4-4) posted his third NJAC win to put the Scarlet Raiders one win away from clinching one of six conference championship tournament berths. Rutgers-Newark hosts Ramapo on Friday at 3:30 p.m. before taking on Richard Stockton in an 11:30 a.m. regular-season ending doubleheader in Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium on Saturday. He struck out five and walked just two before departing with an 8-0 lead. 

Senior designated hitter Anthony Yeswita had a two-out, two-run double in the sixth inning to push the Raider lead to 4-0 before sophomore catcher Anthony Palladino stroked a two-run single to centerfield during a four-run Rutgers-Newark uprising in the eight which was stoked by a pair of WPU errors. 

The decisive eighth-inning rally was start by a bunt single by junior shortstop Patrick Reitemeyer and a walk to Yeswita. Junior third baseman Joe Furnaguera had an infield single to plate Reitemeyer before senior first baseman Matt Lingo reached on a fielding error to load the bases. Palladino then delivered what proved to be the game-winning hit before sophomore Chris Ballester capped the run with an RBI single. 

Junior second baseman Matt Connors led off the game with a triple to centerfielder before scoring on a single by junior centerfielder Michael DiCenso before the Pioneers could record an out. Connors also scored the Raiders' second run after getting hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. A ground ball followed by an infield error moved him to third where he scored on a fielder's choice grounder off the bat of Yeswita to make it 2-0. 

Freshman reliever Matt Larangera gave up an unearned run on one hit while striking out two in the eighth before senior closer Michael Hansen made the game a nail-biter in the ninth. 

Hansen bounced back from yielding a lead-off triple and four consecutive singles in the ninth to finish the contest. Catcher Zak Rose grounded into a double-play to bring in the Pioneers' fourth run of the inning to make it 8-5 before Hansen walked back-to-back batters to bring the tying run to the plate. But rightfielder James Gregory popped up to Reitemeyer to end the contest. 

The win gave the Raiders their third 20-win season of head coach Mark Rizzi's nine-year tenure and guaranteed the Raiders of at least a .500 season in the NJAC.