NEWARK, N.J. (March 30, 2015) – Sophomore left fielder Josh Cote blasted a seventh-inning grand slam over the bullpen in left field to help lift the Rutgers-Newark baseball team to an 11-7 win over Muhlenberg College Monday afternoon at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
 
With the win, the Scarlet Raiders improve to 6-10 on the season, while Muhlenberg drops to 5-9 in defeat.
 
Rutgers-Newark came back four different times to earn the victory, with Cote's blast in proving to be the difference.
 
Trailing 7-6 entering the bottom half of the seventh, the first three Scarlet Raiders reached via walk, before a walk to sophomore first baseman Chas Bohannon tied the game. Cote stepped to the dish facing a new pitcher and wasted little time in hammering his third home run of the season over the bullpen and halfway up the netting in left field to give the hosts a lead they would never relinquish.
 
Freshman Dominick Fazio, who came on in relief of junior starter Ryan MacFarlane in the fourth inning, was excellent, earning the win with 3.2 innings of solid work. He finished allowing two runs (one earned) and just one walk. Fazio also came to the plate in the fourth inning with Rutgers-Newark trailing 5-3, lacing a single to right field that eluded the Mules' outfielder and resulted in three runs. Cote, who had previously driven in a run, scored from first, Bohannon scored from second and Fazio came all the way around to score as well thanks to the three-base error.
 
Each side loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the first inning to only score one run, and each team pushed across a single tally in the third. Muhlenberg was able to open a 5-2 edge midway through the fourth, but R-N was able to claw back and take the lead after four, 6-5.
 
Then, after the Mules scored twice in the top half of the seventh to turn a one-run deficit into a 7-6 advantage, Cote and the Scarlet Raiders came back to take control with five in the seventh.
 
Freshman Brian Boulineau relieved Fazio and tossed a perfect inning of relief in the eighth, with freshman lefty JR Hilcher throwing a scoreless ninth.
 
Center fielder Billy Taylor reached on four walks, scoring twice and stealing four bases, while Cote finished 2-for-3 with five runs batted in and two runs scored. Bohannon scored twice, had one hit and one RBI, and third baseman Nick Gencarelli was 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
 
Taylor is now 9-for-10 stealing bases this year and has an on-base-percentage of .508, and the win is the first of Fazio's young career as a Scarlet Raider.
 
Rutgers-Newark will return to the diamond Tuesday when it visits Drew University at 3:30 p.m. The Raiders return home when they host St. Mary's College at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium Wednesday. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.