Garnet Baseball Edged by Rutgers-Camden 6-5
CAMDEN, N.J. - Junior Ben Schneiderman, sophomore Spencer Ross and sophomore Mike Waterhouse all finished with two hits apiece, but Rutgers-Camden scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning - thanks in part to two Swat errors - as the Scarlet Raptors defeated the Swarthmore College baseball team 6-5 on Tuesday evening from Campbell's Field.
Schneiderman finished with two hits on the day.
Playing under the lights and just a stone's throw away from the Ben Franklin Bridge, the Garnet (19-16) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning, thanks in part to three hits, including a two-RBI single from sophomore Mike Cameron.
The Scarlet Raptors (18-15) countered with four runs in the bottom of the second, taking the lead at 4-2. Scott Fruits singled home a pair of runs, while Kyle Ballay added an RBI single and Greg Hunt drew a bases-loaded walk to force home another run for Rutgers-Camden.
Swat bounced right back to tie the game with a two runs in the third inning. After a pair of singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases, Schneiderman delivered a two-run single to right, bringing home sophomore Miles Santo and Ross to make it a 4-4 game.
A back-and-forth game throughout the night, the Raptors took back the lead at 5-4 in the fourth - only to see Swat tie it once again in the sixth. Sophomore Anthony Montalbano's single to right center brought home junior Thomas Nakamura, equaling the score at 5-5.
With the score 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, the Raptors brought home what turned out to be the game-winning run - thanks in part to some Swat miscues. Rutgers-Camden's John Santilli led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a pinch-hit single to left off of senior Zach Sinemus, and then advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw. Now with sophomore Iggy Rodriguez on the mound, Santilli moved to third on a balk. Santilli would then score the winning run on a busted pickle play; hung out to dry on a missed suicide squeeze, Santilli came home thanks to an error by Ross on the rundown.
Sinemus (0-1) took the loss for the Garnet - one of five Swat pitchers to see action on the day. Rutgers-Camden's Michael Hand worked eight innings to pick up the win for the Raptors.
Swarthmore travels to Haverford for the opening round of the Centennial Conference playoffs on Friday, beginning at 3:00 p.m.