CAMDEN, N.J. (April 8, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark baseball team went on the road Saturday and came back with two big New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) wins as the Scarlet Raiders swept Rutgers University-Camden.
 
Newark scored two runs late and continued to ride the hot relief pitching of junior Luis Rojas to win the opener, 5-4, and the Raiders held on for a 13-11 triumph in the nightcap.
 
Rutgers-Newark improves to 2-2 in the league and 13-5 overall, while Rutgers-Camden drops to 10-11 overall and 1-4 in NJAC play. The Scarlet Raiders – winners in 10 of their last 12 games – visit New Jersey City University Sunday starting at 11:30 a.m. for a conference doubleheader.
 
"It's tough to sweep a conference doubleheader but to do it on the road is special," said Head Coach Mark Rizzi after the win. "We broke out to early leads in both games and got good starting pitching from Dominick (Fazio) and Anthony (Rosoline). Luis (Rojas) and Yanni (Vayas) did a great job closing the games out as well."
 
Rutgers-Newark 5, Rutgers-Camden 4
The Scarlet Raiders prevailed in a see-saw battle to start the day, taking the lead for good with two runs in the eighth.
 
After Camden turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead with two runs in the seventh, Rutgers-Newark responded with the game-winning runs. A one-out double from junior Ross Halkias set the table, and he advanced to third on a failed pick-off attempt. Halkias came across to score the tying marker on a sacrifice fly from junior Anthony Perconte, and Perconte reached second base on the play thanks to an error. The next batter – junior Adam Tricarico – wasted little time in cashing in on the opportunity with a run-scoring single to left to give Rutgers-Newark a 5-4 lead.
 
Rojas, who came on for two outs in the seventh, sent down Camden in the eighth, and allowed just a two-out single in the ninth to pick up the win. Rojas' final line was 2.2 innings, one hit and no runs, improving to 2-0 on the season.
 
Scarlet Raider starter Dominick Fazio allowed just one hit over his first four innings, and Camden errors opened the door for two runs in the third inning for Rutgers-Newark. After junior Brian Boulineau reached on the misplay, freshman Colin Powers was hit by a pitch and the bases became loaded after a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt from junior Justin Marks. Sophomore Ryan Zucker was next, singling to right to plate Boulineau, and a fielder's choice groundout from freshman JC Ball made it a 2-0 game.
 
R-C worked around hits from senior Josh Cote and Zucker in the fourth, and Fazio stranded a leadoff double in the fifth to keep his team on top 2-0.
 
The Scarlet Raiders added a run in the sixth as Boulineau drove in Perconte, but Camden pushed across two in the sixth and two in the seventh to take the lead.
 
Fazio went the first six innings for the Raiders, giving up two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts. The junior pitched well, turning in a quality start and giving his team a chance to win. Zucker stayed hot in the win with a 2-for-5 and one RBI performance and Perconte was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Cote finished 2-for-5 as the guests totaled nine hits in the opener.
 
Rutgers-Newark 13, Rutgers-Camden 11
The Scarlet Raider bats exploded for 13 runs in the first three innings of the second game, and the guests hung on late for the sweep.
 
In the first, Rutgers-Newark pushed across six runs, getting a run-scoring single from Halkias to start. An RBI walk from Tricarico made it 2-0, Boulineau followed with a two-run double and later in the inning Marks delivered a two-run single to center.
 
Ball (BB) and Cote (1B) set the table in the second and Halkias drove home Ball with a sacrifice fly, and the Raiders scored six more times in the third. Marks drove in Boulineau with an infield single for the eighth run of the game, Zucker drove in Powers who had walked and Halkias singled home Marks. Perconte was next, driving in two with a triple to right-center, and he came across the plate thanks to a passed ball to give Rutgers the 13-0 cushion.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored three times in the fifth off Scarlet Raider starter Anthony Rosoline. Rosoline went the first five innings, giving up three runs on six hits. The second-year Scarlet Raider notched the win, moving to 3-1 on the season.
 
The Scarlet Raptors continued to chip away, scoring five more times in the seventh to cut a 10-run deficit to five at 13-8. Junior reliever Dan Murphy was able to get Rutgers-Newark out of the seventh, but Camden continued its comeback with three more in the eighth to get within two. Junior reliever Yanni Vayas came on in the eighth, eventually leaving the bases loaded.
 
Rutgers-Newark stranded two in its final turn at the plate, and Vayas went on to try and lock down the exhilarating sweep. He struck out the first two batters looking before inducing a groundout to end it.
 
Vayas was credited with the save thanks to a final line of 1.2 innings, no runs, one hit, two strikeouts and a walk. It was his first save of the season.
 
The offense finished with 11 hits in the second game. Halkias went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, and Perconte was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Marks was 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored, Zucker went 2-for-6 with two runs and an RBI out of the leadoff spot, and Boulineau was 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs and two RBI.
 
"We had good at-bats today and we are a tough team to pitch to," added Rizzi. "We had more strikeouts than I would like, but we battle so hard at the plate when guys are in scoring position."
 
Fans can visit www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com Sunday for links to follow the Scarlet Raiders' NJAC twinbill at NJCU.