WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (March 14, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Camden baseball team and defending national champion SUNY-Cortland staged an offensive battle for the ages here Monday at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

In a wild game that featured 20 hits by each team and a total of 18 walks and seven errors, the Scarlet Raptors suffered their first loss of the season, 22-20, in a contest where both teams saw seemingly-safe leads vanish before the Red Dragons hung on for the win.

Cortland, which won its last nine games in 2015 while sweeping through the NCAA playoffs en route to the national championship, improves to 12-0 this season. The Red Dragons, who batted around in both the fifth and sixth innings as they erased an 11-4 deficit, have won their last 21 games over two seasons and are ranked No. 1 nationally in the D3baseball.com top 25 poll.

Rutgers-Camden falls to 4-1 on the season and 1-1 on its spring break after splitting a pair of games Sunday and Monday with the two teams that played for last season's national title. The Scarlet Raptors beat second-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse, 16-4, on Sunday.

Rutgers-Camden scored a pair of runs in the first inning on RBI singles by freshman shortstop Chris Jones (Sewell, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) and senior second baseman Brett Tenuto (Audubon, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), but Cortland bounced back with three in the second and one in the third to grab a 4-2 lead.

Not to be outdone, Rutgers-Camden regained the lead with four runs in the bottom of the third, aided by three hits, three walks, a sacrifice fly by freshman third baseman Ray Taylor (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood) and a run-scoring error. Junior first baseman Frank Cerami IV (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) had a bases-loaded walk in the frame, while junior right fielder Doug Carter Jr. (Union, NJ/Union) had an RBI single.

Rutgers-Camden added five more runs in the fourth to take an 11-4 lead. Carter had a three-run triple in the frame, which also included RBI singles from Tenuto and Cerami.

The Red Dragons, however, didn't get to be the national champions by accident, and they showed their resolve over the next two innings. Cortland scored six times in the fifth, aided by a three-run home run from junior left fielder Nick Hart (Fredonia, NY/Fredonia) to make it an 11-10 game. The Scarlet Raptors answered back with three runs, including an RBI double by Tenuto for his 100th career hit at Rutgers-Camden, as they took a 14-10 lead.

In the top of the sixth, Cortland sent 12 men to the plate, with eight scoring as they took the lead for good, 18-14. The frame featured four hits, four walks and a hit batsman. An RBI double by freshman shortstop Dan Schweitzer (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) put Cortland ahead, 15-14. The Red Dragons tacked on two more runs on a single by junior third baseman Steven Figueroa (Bronx, NY/St. Raymond's), who was thrown out stealing moments before Hart capped the frame with his second home run of the day.

Two hits, a walk and an error plated two more Cortland runs in the seventh. Senior first baseman Austin Clock (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) added a two-run homer in the eighth for the Red Dragons to make it 22-14.

The game was far from over, however, as the Raptors countered in the bottom of the eighth with five unearned runs on a walk, hit batsman, two-out error and a three-run double by Jones. Junior designated hitter Andujar Cedeno (Bronx, NY/Escuela Nueva Esperanza, DR) followed with a two-run home run, cutting the gap to 22-19.

In the bottom of the ninth, Rutgers-Camden had a leadoff double from junior center fielder Cory Kreamer (Philadelphia, PA/Father Judge). He moved up on a ground out and, following a walk to senior first baseman Joe Sigismondi (Blackwood, NJ/Highland Regional), scored on an infield single by junior right fielder Zach Ellin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee). A sacrifice by junior catcher Jon Theckston (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and an intentional walk to junior left fielder Joe Brooks (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) loaded the bases and placed the winning run aboard before Cortland finally ended the game on a grounder to second.

Figueroa and Clock each had four hits and three RBIs for the winners, with Clock adding four runs and Figueroa scoring twice. Hart went 2-for-6 with his two home runs and had five RBIs, while Schweitzer was 3-for-6 with two runs and two RBIs.

Rutgers-Camden received a 4-for-5 game with three runs and three RBIs from Tenuto, who was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference's Player of the Week on Monday. It was the second straight four-hit game for Tenuto, who also went 4-for-5 Sunday against Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Carter went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, while Jones went 3-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs. Ellin, Theckston, Brooks and Cedeno each had two hits.

The Scarlet Raptors return to action Tuesday with a 3:45 p.m. game in Auburndale, Florida, against Washington University of St. Louis, Missouri.