NEWARK, N.J. (April 9, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark baseball team completed a perfect New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) weekend with two more wins Sunday afternoon at New Jersey City University.
 
The Scarlet Raiders rolled to an 11-3 win in the opener and erased a late 11-8 deficit to earn a thrilling 14-11 win in the nightcap. R-N went a perfect 4-0 in league play on the road this weekend, improving to a sparkling 15-5 overall and 4-2 in the NJAC. NJCU drops to 1-5 in league play and 6-10 overall.
 
Since a 3-3 start to the season Rutgers-Newark has been on an absolute tear, winning 12 of its last 14 games despite playing no home games to date.
 
"Going 4-0 this weekend on the road is huge for us," said Head Coach Mark Rizzi. "Our offense is coming around. We are having great at-bats and different guys are stepping up and contributing each game."
 
Rutgers-Newark 11, NJCU 3
The Scarlet Raiders kept it rolling in the opener, scoring two runs in the first inning and never looking back.
 
Junior starting pitcher Mike Zibrin dazzled, scattering seven hits over seven efficient innings to improve to 4-1 on the season. The righty was charged with two runs, walking one and striking out seven.
 
Junior backstop Justin Marks singled with one out in the first inning and scored on a double from junior Ross Halkias to get the Scarlet Raiders on the board. Junior Anthony Perconte plated senior Josh Cote who had a walked earlier in the frame with a sacrifice fly and Rutgers-Newark was off and running.
 
Zibrin allowed a run in the first on two hits, but a two-run single from freshman Colin Powers in the third inning gave R-N a 4-1 advantage.
 
Marks connected on his first home run of the season to push the lead to 5-1 in the fourth, and an RBI double from junior Brian Boulineau in the fifth allowed junior Adam Tricarico to score. Boulineau scored on an error later in the inning, and after NJCU tallied one in the sixth to get within five (7-2), Boulineau crossed again thanks to an RBI single to right from sophomore Ryan Zucker.
 
Marks' third hit of the game was a double and he tallied his third run of the contest on a Halkias ground out, while a Tricarico single plated Cote who had walked and stole a base.
 
Freshman Brandon Terrizzi needed just six pitches to get through the eighth inning, and Rutgers-Newark scored its 11th and final run in the ninth when freshman Jordanny Nunez doubled home freshman John Klimowich.
 
Five of the 12 Rutgers-Newark hits in the opener went for extra bases, and the offense was led by Marks who went 3-for-6 with three runs scored, a double and a homer. Tricarico went 2-for-3 with two runs, two walks and an RBI, and Zucker was 2-for-5. Halkias had a hit and two RBI, Cote was 1-for-3 with two runs and two walks as a total of eight players had at least one hit in the game.
 
Rutgers-Newark 14, NJCU 11
**despite playing on the road, Rutgers-Newark was the 'home' team in this game
Trailing 11-8 in the bottom half of the seventh inning, Rutgers-Newark scored the game's final six runs, plating three in the seventh and three more in the eighth to get the big-time comeback win.
 
Freshman JC Ball started the inning with a single, Zucker followed with a base knock and Marks was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After an out, freshman Connor Clare singled home the inning's first run, and Perconte brought home the next two with a clutch game-tying single up the middle.
 
NJCU was sent down one-two-three in the top half of the eighth, and Rutgers-Newark scored three times in its half of the inning to take the lead for good. Ball played catalyst again with a single to lead off, and Zucker executed a sacrifice bunt to put the lead run in scoring position. Marks was next and he delivered, lacing an RBI single to center, and he eventually came around to score on an error. Later in the inning, Perconte drove in Clare with an infield single.
 
Junior Luis Rojas came on in the ninth to pick up the save, allowing a two-out single and striking out one. It was his fourth save of the season and put a wrap on an incredible week of relief pitching for the junior.
 
Newark scored three runs in the first, getting two on a triple from Cote and one thanks to an RBI single from Powers. Nick LoGatto hit one of his two homers for NJCU to pull the Knights within one at 3-2.
 
Cote doubled to center, plating a pair for runs four and five in the second, and after another two-run blast from the Gothic Knights, Boulineau went deep for his first of the season and a 6-4 Rutgers-Newark lead. A throwing error allowed Ball to score later in the third, but a three-run double from freshman Lenin Gomez pulled NJCU even at 7-7 in the sixth.
 
A sacrifice fly from Boulineau helped Newark regain the lead (8-7) in the bottom of the sixth, but a three-run homer from LoGatto put a cap on a four-run NJCU seventh, setting the stage for the Rutgers-Newark comeback.
 
Freshman Vincent Conti went the first five for Rutgers-Newark, allowing seven runs on six hits with three strikeouts, and senior Vincent Enea tossed 1.2 innings in relief, giving up two unearned runs. Junior Dan Murphy picked up the win to move to 3-1 on the season with 1.1 innings of work, giving up a pair of unearned runs on two hits, and Rojas pocketed the save.
 
Rutgers-Newark tallied 19 hits in the second game. Zucker went 3-for-4 with three runs and a walk, Marks was 3-for-4 with four runs and an RBI and Cote went 2-for-5 with four RBI, a run scored and a walk. Perconte stayed hot with a 4-for-5, three RBI performance and Ball went 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
 
What's next? Rutgers-Newark returns to the diamond Tuesday afternoon in Newark with a game against Alvernia at Riverfront Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.