WAYNE, NJ – Rutgers-Newark exploded for a season-high 22 hits in a 16-7 win over William Paterson which put it on the door steps of a New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament berth.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Senior shortstop Patrick Reitemeyer went five for six with a grand slam that capped a nine-run fourth inning and staked the Raiders to a gaudy 16-2 lead.

Junior third baseman Tim Miller went three for three and drove in five runs while junior first baseman Chris Ballester went three for five with an RBI double in the three-run first inning and another RBI single in the four-run second as Rutgers-Newark jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead.

Miller had an RBI single in the first, a two-run single in the second and a two-run single in the fourth.

Senior lefthander Billy Cerruti (4-6) handcuffed the Pioneers (18-15-1, NJAC 6-8) for six innings, yielding two runs while scattering six hits, striking out two and walking three. Sophomore Tyler Kwiatek and freshman Lou Karcanes closed out the win.

The 16-run explosion snapped the Raiders out of a four-game NJAC losing streaking during which they scored just 14 runs on 27 hits.

The victory also marked the third year in a row that 10th-year head coach Mark Rizzi has led his team to the 20-win plateau. His 2006 team won 23 games while claiming an ECAC Metro Championship. The Raiders won 22 games in 2009 and 2010.

The Scarlet Raiders (20-14, NJAC) take on league-leading Rowan (26-8-1, NJAC 13-3) in Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium at noon on Saturday. It will be Senior Day with Cerruti, Reitemeyer, Matt Connors, Ryan Williams, Michael DiCenso and Michael Cassese receiving special recognition before the game.

With most of the NJAC's 10 schools needing to play one, two or three makeup games because of rainouts, Rowan and the Raiders will square off and then see where the chips fall in the battle for six league tournament berths. Rowan and Kean are already assured of slots.

Rutgers-Newark can punch its own ticket by splitting the doubleheader with Rowan.