WAYNE, NJ – Rutgers-Newark lost a rollercoaster battle against William Paterson, 9-6, on Jeff Albies Field in New Jersey Athletic Conference play.
BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Scarlet Raiders (15-21, NJAC 4-11) battled back from a 3-run deficit to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the sixth, but the Pioneers (27-10, NJAC 9-6) knocked Rutgers-Newark out of contention for one of six NJAC Championship Tournament berths.
Senior centerfielder
Chris Ballester, senior third baseman
Tim Miller and sophomore leftfielder
Jason McCluskey notched two hits apiece to lead the Raiders' 11-hit attack, but Rutgers-Newark stranded 13 runners in the loss.
Junior right-hander
Kyle Van Vliet lasted just four innings, yielding five runs on four hits while striking out four and walking two before junior
Matt Larangera limited WPU to a run on two hits in two full innings of relief.
Sophomore first baseman
Vin Troisi, Miller and sophomore rightfielder
Jimmy Napolitano singled to ignite a 2-run rally in the fifth inning before Troisi tied the score at 5-5 in the sixth on an infield grounder after ending up on third base courtesy of a 2-base throwing error by the Pioneers.
After the Pioneers regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth, freshman shortstop
Matt Goldberg doubled and scored on a single through the middle of the infield by McCluskey to knot the score at 6-6 in the top of the seventh.
But freshman reliever Tom Gaccione (4-2) settled down to blank the Raiders the rest of the way despite issuing a pair of 2-out walks in the ninth inning.
The Pioneers plated the winning run on a throwing error in the 2-run seventh inning against sophomore reliever
Michael Garcia (0-3) who did not yield a hit in a full inning of work. Senior
Anthony Palladino, who played the first eight innings at catcher, gave up a run in the ninth.
Rutgers-Newark celebrates Senior Night on Friday at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium in a 6 p.m. contest against William Paterson.
The Raiders close out their 2012 season in an NJAC doubleheader at Rowan on Saturday.
