Box Score
GLASSBORO, NJ – The Rutgers-Camden baseball team upset 25th ranked Rowan University, 5-4 in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game on Friday.
Rutgers-Camden has a 9-25 record and a 2-14 NJAC mark. Rowan is 27-9 overall and 11-5 in the conference. Left hander Al Casanova (so. Haddon Twp., NJ/Gloucester Catholic) earned his first win of the year for the Scarlet Raptors. He went 4.2 innings, allowing one earned run. Lefty Andrew Lihotz (sr. Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) threw the final two innings for his first save of the season. Right hander Miguel Sosa (sr. Miami, FL/Barbara Goleman) took the loss on the mound for the Profs.
Catcher Greg Hunt (so. Marlton, NJ/St. Joseph’s (Hammonton)) led Rutgers-Camden with two hits (four at bats), a home run, three RBIs and one run scored. Third baseman Kyle Ballay (so. Delran, NJ/Delran) went one for four with a home run, one RBI and one run scored. Right fielder Steve Myers (so. Millville, NJ/Millville) added a double and one run scored. Left fielder Zach Colgate (so. Haddon Heights, NJ/Haddon Heights) drove in one run while center fielder Scott Fruits (so. Turnersville, NJ/Paul VI) and shortstop Shawn Park (sr. West Berlin, NJ/St. Joseph’s (Hammonton)) each scored once.
For Rowan, right fielder John McMullin (jr. Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) went one for three with two RBIs and one run scored. First baseman Tom Ready (jr. Blenheim, NJ/Triton Reg.) contributed with one hit (two at bats) and one RBI. Shortstop Roland Rodriguez (so. Miami, FL/Miami Killian), left fielder Frank Hasenauer (sr. Iselin, NJ/John F. Kennedy) and second baseman Joe Franceschini (sr. Toms River, NJ/Toms River E.) scored one run apiece.
Rutgers-Camden took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Hunt single to left center field scoring Park and Fruits. Rowan tied the game at two in the bottom half, Rodriguez came home on an error and Franceschini crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice. In the third, Hunt hit a solo homer to give the Scarlet Raptors a 3-2 advantage. Colgate singled in Myers in the fourth.
Rowan cut the deficit to one (4-3) with one run in the bottom of the fifth. McMullin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing home Hasenauer. Ballay’s solo home run in the sixth put Rutgers-Camden back up by two (5-3). The Profs got their final run in the eighth when McMullin came in on a ground out by Ready.
Rowan travels to Montclair State University for a NJAC doubleheader on Saturday, May 26 at noon. Rutgers-Camden is at New Jersey City University on Saturday for a conference doubleheader at noon.
