UNION, N.J. (April 20, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark baseball team fell this afternoon to Kean University in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play, 9-2. In their second matchup in two days, R-N served as the home team but it was Kean who pulled away to improve to 17-16 (8-4 NJAC) while the Raiders move to 9-21 (1-11 NJAC) on the season.

Rutgers-Newark featured a trio of hitters that recorded multi-hit performances. Senior Anthony Perconte went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run, classmate Brian Boulineau was 2-for-4, and junior Dominic Magliaro added two hits, including a double, in four at bats. Junior Ryan Zucker led the team with two RBI and compiled a .400 on-base percentage with a hit and a walk in five plate appearances. Sophomore Kevin Tamsula had a squad-high .667 OBP, going 1-for-2 with a run and a walk.

The Scarlet Raiders face a short turnaround as they continue their league slate tomorrow with a pair of contests at Ramapo beginning at 11:30 a.m.

The Cougars jumped out in front quickly against Newark this afternoon, building a four-run advantage after an explosive top of the first.

Still, the Raiders rallied back in the bottom of the second. Dominic Magliaro led off the frame by working the count to 2-0 before smacking a single into center.

Perconte found himself in an 0-2 hole but managed to will the ball through the middle for a base knock of his own, putting runners on first and second with no outs.

Two batters later, Tamsula patiently earned a walk that loaded that bases.

Following a fielder's choice that nabbed Dominic Magliaro at home, it was up to Zucker to salvage the scoring opportunity. The upperclassman came through despite falling behind in the count 1-2, delivering a two-RBI base hit into center that allowed Perconte and Tamsula to cross the plate, halving the deficit to 4-2.
 
Unfortunately, that would be as close as Newark would get. Kean went on to add five scores between the fifth and seventh innings as it closed out a 9-2 win.

While the Scarlet Raiders failed to get on the scoreboard after the second, they did threaten on multiple occasions.

In the third, walks by senior Adam Tricarico and Perconte sandwiched around a Dominic Magliaro double had the bases full of Raiders with one out. However, a foul out and a snuffed out steal attempt saw the Cougars escape the frame unscathed.

The seventh saw a one out base on balls from Zucker and a ground-rule two-bagger off the bat of senior Justin Marks set Newark up with two runners in scoring position. Still, Kean reliever Dylan Colatrella came up big with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.

Senior Mike Zibrin (1-6) suffered the loss after 5.1 innings of work, allowing seven runs (three earned) while walking none and striking out one. Classmate Dominick Fazio hurled one frame of relief before junior Timothy Kales turned in 2.2 innings of shutout ball.