Rutgers-Newark survives marathon to sweep Rutgers-Camden nine

CAMDEN (April 5, 2008) – Junior catcher Gerard Russomanno (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) doubled home the tie-breaking run in the top of the 17th inning of the nightcap to lift the Rutgers-Newark baseball team to a 13-4, 8-6 sweep over Rutgers-Camden in a New Jersey Athletic Conference baseball marathon Saturday afternoon and evening at Campbell\’s Field.

The second game lasted 4:48 and the 17 innings made it the longest game in Rutgers-Camden baseball history. The previous record of 12 innings was accomplished eight times, last on April 22, 2007 when the Raptors lost a 6-5 game at The College of New Jersey.
The sweep lifts Rutgers-Newark to 11-11 overall and 4-3 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden falls to 7-15 and 1-5.

Game One

In the first game, the Scarlet Raiders ripped 16 hits and took advantage of eight walks and three hit batsmen to defeat the Scarlet Raptors. Newark scored four runs in the sixth inning to break open a tight 3-2 lead.

The Scarlet Raiders scored three runs in the game on bases-loaded walks and one on a hit batsman with the bases loaded. Seven of the Newark runners who scored were put aboard by either a walk or as a hit batsman.

Freshman second baseman Matt Connors (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights) paced Newark, going 4-for-5 with two runs, three RBIs and a stolen base from his leadoff spot. Junior right fielder Brian Gill (Manasquan, NJ/Wall), sophomore DH Anthony Yeswita (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights), senior first baseman Dan Zika (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley), senior left fielder Doug Ford (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) and Russomanno each added two hits.

The first five batters in the Newark lineup – Connors, Gill, Yeswita, Zika and Ford, combined to go 12-for-26 with six runs and 10 RBIs.
Sophomore Dan Nodarse (Rutherford, NJ/Rutherford) worked seven innings, allowing nine hits, four earned runs and two walks. He struck out four while evening his record at 1-1.

For the Raptors, sophomore center fielder Scott Fruits (Turnersville, NJ/Paul VI), senior shortstop Shawn Park (West Berlin, NJ/St. Joseph-Hammonton) and sophomore catcher Paul Painter (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional) each had two hits. Sophomore right fielder Steve Myers (Millville, NJ/Millville) collected three RBIs.

Game Two

The second game lasted five innings longer than the previous Rutgers-Camden record for innings, as the two teams matched scoreless innings from the ninth through the 16th inning. In the top of the 17th, a two-out walk to sophomore shortstop Michael Dennis (Lakewood, NJ/Lakewood) started the Raiders\’ winning rally. Russomanno, who caught all 26 innings on the day for Newark, ripped a double to right-center field to plate Dennis, and then scored on a single up the middle by freshman center fielder Matt Citro (Bloomsbury, NJ/Phillipsburg).

Trailing by as much as 4-1 early in the game, Rutgers-Camden fought back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth on an unearned run, setting the stage for a marathon which featured 120 at bats, 27 hits, nine walks, seven errors and six hit batsmen in a game that started at 3:13 p.m. and lasted until 8:01. Two players on each side collected eight at bats apiece, including Fruits and Myers for the Raptors, who broke the old Rutgers-Camden mark of seven at bats in a game held by five players.

Zika collected 19 putouts at first base for the Scarlet Raiders, while Rutgers-Camden sophomore third baseman Kyle Ballay (Delran, NJ/Delran) notched eight assists, two shy of the single-game program record.

Rutgers-Camden sophomore catcher Greg Hunt (Marlton, NJ/St. Joseph-Hammonton) went 4-for-7 on the day, while sophomore left fielder Zach Colgate (Haddon Heights, NJ/Haddon Heights) added three hits.

For Newark, Russomanno paced the attack with three hits, including the game-winning double.

Junior pitcher Christian Diaz (New Milford, NJ/New Milford), the last of four Newark pitchers, picked up the win with two shutout innings. He allowed no hits and one walk. Diaz (1-1) struck out two. Perhaps the best performance on the mound was turned in by Newark junior Robert Falk (Englishtown, NJ/Manalapan), who worked six shutout innings in relief, allowing only two hits. He struck out two and didn\’t walk a batter.

Rutgers-Camden freshman Eric Bosworth (Westford, MA/Westford Academy), the last of six Raptor pitchers, took the loss, allowing two earned runs, one walk and two hits in two innings. Bosworth fell to 1-4.

Rutgers-Camden hosts Rowan University in a NJAC makeup game Monday at 3:30 p.m. That game was postponed by rain on Friday. Rutgers-Newark has a non-conference makeup game Wednesday when it travels to De Sales University for a 3:30 p.m. game.