CAMDEN, N.J. (March 30, 2013) – Junior southpaw Ryan Farabella (Vineland, NJ/Buena Regional) took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and finished with a one-hit shutout as the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team blanked nationally-ranked Kean University, 3-0, in the opening game of a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader here Saturday.
Kean, ranked No. 5 nationally in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Division III poll and No. 6 in the D3baseball.com Top 25, came back to win the nightcap, 4-2, behind the combined pitching of senior Sam Fourre (Scotch Plains, NJ/St. Joseph-Metuchen) and sophomore Charles Thielmann (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway).
The conference-opening split leaves both teams at 1-1 in the NJAC.
Rutgers-Camden, 13-8, has won six of its last eight games. Kean, which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped in the opener, stands at 16-5.
Both teams return to action Tuesday with 3:30 p.m. non-conference home games. Rutgers-Camden entertains John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Kean faces the College of Staten Island.
Game 1
Rutgers-Camden 3, Kean 0
Farabella (3-0) walked on, hit one and struck out eight in his one-hit gem to lead the Scarlet Raptors past the Cougars. Bidding for the first no-hitter at Rutgers-Camden since Zack Pendleton hurled a 2-0 win over Western Connecticut State University on March 23, 2002, Farabella took a no-hitter into the eighth and got the first out on strikes before freshman pinch-hitter Ryan Reitmeyer (Lacey Township, NJ/Lacey Township) grounded a clean single through the shortstop hole for the Cougars' lone hit of the contest. He was erased on a 1-6-3 double play and Farabella finished strong in the ninth with a strikeout, a 1-3 comebacker and a 3-1 game-ending out.
Farabella had to be strong, as Kean senior starter Kevin Herget (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) hurled a stellar game as well. Herget (2-2) worked 6-2/3 innings, allowing eight hits, three walks and three runs, only one earned. He struck out seven.
Locked in a scoreless game, the Scarlet Raptors collected three straight singles in the fourth inning after the first two batters struck out. Senior catcher Shaune Collins (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) dribbled an infield single down the third base line that Herget couldn't handle coming off the mound. Senior rightfielder Donnie Haines (Carneys Point, NJ/Penns Grove) singled to right and junior second baseman Luis Maldonado (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Pennsauken) singled to left, plating Collins.
The Raptors added two unearned runs in the fifth on an error and two hits, including a bunt single by senior centerfielder Albert Rivera (Matawan, NJ/Matawan Regional) and a two-run single by senior designated hitter Dave Prager (Deptford, NJ/Deptford).
Haines, who went 3-for-4, and Rivera, who was 2-for-3, were the only players in the game with multiple hits.
The Raptors' victory snapped a 13-game losing streak against Kean. They hadn't beaten the Cougars since a 5-3 win in the opening game of a doubleheader on April 29, 2006.
Game 2
Kean 4, Rutgers-Camden 2
One bad inning proved costly for the Scarlet Raptors in the nightcap, as the Cougars scored all their runs in a fourth inning which featured two errors and three hits – two of them lost the brutal right field sun at Campbell's Field.
Maldonado gave Rutgers-Camden a 1-0 lead in the third when he stroked a leadoff double to left field, advanced on an infield error and scored on a passed ball. Moments later, Kean took the lead for good.
Freshman first baseman Salvatore Taormina (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) opened the Kean fourth with a deep fly to right field that was lost in the sun and fell for a double. Third baseman Reitmeyer sacrificed him to third, but reached on a fielding error, and freshman rightfielder Ryan Kelley (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) followed with a game-tying single through the right side of the infield.
After a sacrifice, freshman centerfielder Matt Meleo (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) dropped down another sacrifice that was thrown away, allowing both runners to score. The Cougars' final run came on a looping fly into shallow right field by junior second baseman Tyler Smarslok (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial), which was lost in the sun and fell for an RBI single.
Those runs were enough for Fourre to raise his record to 4-1. He worked 6-1/3 innings of five-hit ball, walking none and striking out four. The lone run he allowed was unearned.
Thielmann worked 2-2/3 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run, while striking out three. He allowed a run in the eighth on an infield single by Rivera and an RBI double by sophomore first baseman Connor Hall (Delran, NJ/Delran), but he closed out the game to earn his third save of the season.
The tough-luck losing pitcher was Raptor senior Adam Satanoff (Pitman, NJ/Pitman), who worked five innings and allowed five hits, two walks and four runs, only one earned. He struck out seven.
Freshman Chris Scarlett (Galloway, NJ/Holy Spirit) hurled the final four shutout innings for the Scarlet Raptors, allowing only one hit and one walk. He struck out one.
Only two batters in the game had multiple hits, as the Raptors' Collins went 3-for-4 and teammate Maldonado was 2-for-4.