FLEMINGTON, N.J. – The Rutgers–Newark baseball team rallied late but came up just short in a 9–8 loss to Nichols College on Friday afternoon at Diamond Nation.

Nichols jumped out early, scoring the first three runs of the game in the opening inning to take an early advantage. 

Rutgers–Newark responded in the second inning with two runs. Gilroy Prial drove in RJ Kernan on a sacrifice fly before Matthew Toretto singled to bring Jonathan Jerez across the plate, cutting the deficit. The Bison added another run in the third inning to extend their lead.

The Scarlet Raiders continued to chip away in the top of the fourth inning, adding two more runs to take the lead. Manny Nunez came home on a balk, and Malik Little followed with a groundout to first base that scored Toretto to cut the deficit back to 1.

Nichols answered by scoring the next four runs of the contest to regain control and eventually build a 9–4 lead.

Rutgers–Newark mounted its final push in the seventh inning, plating four runs to cut the deficit to just one. Despite the rally, the Scarlet Raiders were unable to bring home the tying run over the remaining innings as Nichols held on for the 9–8 victory.

Toretto led the Rutgers–Newark offense with three hits, three RBIs, and a run scored. Trevor Wallace and Prial each added two hits in the contest. On the mound, junior Chase Ostrowski provided a strong outing in relief, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and striking out one batter against 14 batters faced.

For the latest news, updates, and information on Rutgers-Newark sports, visit rutgersnewarkathletics.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Scarlet Raiders news by following Rutgers-Newark Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.