FLEMINGTON, NJ – Junior first baseman Chris Ballester crushed a pair of home runs to highlight a 14-hit Rutgers-Newark explosion in a 10-7 win over Penn State-Abington at Diamond Nation.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Senior shortstop Patrick Reitemeyer went four for five as the Scarlet Raiders (2-1) hammered out double-digit hits for the second game in two days on the turf in Flemington.  After getting just four hits in their season-opening 4-1 loss to King's College, the Raiders have piled up 21 runs on 25 hits in the last two games -- including 14 extra-base hits

Junior third baseman Tim Miller went two for four with a sacrifice fly and a double while sophomore catcher Christian Kasa went two for four with a double.

Kasa stole home on a double steal with senior second baseman Matt Connors in the third, coming home on the throw as Connors swiped the first of two bases in the game.  Connors doubled to lead off the game and scored on a single by Reitemeyer to give the Raiders the early lead.

The Nittany Lions trimmed the Raider lead to 5-4 in the top of the fifth when third baseman Daniel Hill ripped a two-run home run to cap a four-run rally against Rutgers-Newark starter Connor Medler (1-0).  Medler got the win while going six innings, allowing five hits on eight hits, striking out four and walking one.

Miller doubled with one out in the bottom of the fifth and scored on a two-out single by Kasa to give the Raiders some breathing room.

In the sixth, Ballester delivered a two-run homer to make it 8-4 before his solo shot in the eighth started a two-run rally.  Designated hitter Mike Ciaramello doubled and moved to third on wild pitch before Miller lofted a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring.

The Nittany Lions notched single runs in the seventh and eighth innings against relievers Nick Evans and Jimmy Napolitano before sophomore Matt Larangera collected his first save of the season by coming on with two out and the bases loaded in the eighth to coax an infield pop up to escape the jam.  Larangera hurled a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Rutgers-Newark visits perennial NCAA contender Johns Hopkins at 2:30 p.m. on Monday in Baltimore for its final contest before the annual spring break trip to California.