NEWARK, NJ | The Rutgers University-Newark baseball team dropped a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) bout to William Paterson, 11-2. 

Rutgers-Newark (12-11, 1-5) scattered five hits and registered three errors while scoring a pair of runs. Daniel Reardon (2-2) pitched 2.2 innings and allowed 10 hits and six earned runs. Marcus James came in and pitched 6.1 innings and allowed just seven hits and four earned runs. Armando Alvarez and Chris Suleski each tallied a hit and an RBI.

William Paterson (18-9, 4-3) was led by Jake Lutz who finished 4-for-5 with 3 RBI while Elliott Hayward also finished with four hits. Dan Carter tallied a pair of hits and RBIs. 

The Pioneers got off to a hot start, plating seven runs through the first three innings thanks to a pair of homeruns by Lombardo and Lutz. The Scarlet Raiders did score their own pair of runs in the bottom of the 1st when Armando Alvarez and Chris Suleski used RBI singles to knot the game up early on.

After a three-hour lightning delay, the Scarlet Raiders and Pioneers returned to the field in the top of the 4th. Marcus James was able to put the Pioneers away in order, thanks to a 543 double play. 

James came in and slowed William Paterson's offense down, however, the Scarlet Raiders were unable to keep the momentum going they had in the 1st inning. The Pioneers came out and added four more runs to their tally while keeping the Scarlet Raiders off of the scoreboard to take the first game of the series. 

Up Next:
The Scarlet Raiders will head to Wayne, NJ to take on William Paterson in the away portion of the series.