GAME ONE
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Scarlet Raptors took advantage of a leadoff walk, groundout and single to manufacture one run during the top of the first inning.
- The Pioneers answered immediately with a pair of runs during their first at-bat. Senior center fielder Steven DiGirolamo led off with a base hit to left and senior shortstop Matt Ferrara followed with a single through the right side. After a strikeout and groundout, senior first baseman Carson Weis plated both runners with a double into center field.
- WP tacked on two more in the second. Junior second baseman Colin Lombardo reached on a leadoff error and stole second, senior right fielder Dan Carter drew a base on balls, and junior third baseman Chris Liriano hit an RBI-single through the left side. After a groundout and Ferrara infield single loaded the bases, junior designated hitter Steve Yelin's fielder's choice plated Carter for a 4-1 advantage.
- Rutgers-Camden used a solo homer, two walks, a bunt single and a sac fly to cut the lead to 4-3 during the top of the fourth inning.
- A DiGirolamo base hit and two hit by pitches loaded the bases with zero outs in the home half of the fourth. Senior catcher Dylan Habeeb delivered one run with a fielder's choice, and Weis drove home another with a sac fly to left, making it a 6-3 game.
- A four-run fifth gave WP control of the game, 10-3. Carter hit a one-out single to center and Liriano and DiGirolamo drew walks, leading to a bases-loaded RBI-single for Ferrara. A wild pitch plated Liriano, and Yelin's ground-rule double scored two more for the Pioneers.
- William Paterson finished the scoring in the eighth with a Habeeb double and Lombardo triple.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Ferrara was 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, and Weis finished 2-for-4 while contributing a double and three RBI. DiGirolamo added two hits and three runs scored.
- Junior Jordan Manne tossed the first 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks. Classmate Matt Lawler (1-0) pitched the final 5.2 innings, scattering two hits and one walk while striking out six.
GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Pioneers scored the game's first run thanks to a Lombardo leadoff base on balls, a failed pickoff attempt and an Adrian Alarcon RBI-groundout during the home half of the second inning.
- A base hit, error, wild pitch and two-run single gave the Scarlet Raptors a 2-1 edge in the top of the third.
- WP leveled the score during its next at-bat thanks to three walks and a wild pitch.
- Rutgers-Camden surged ahead with a two-run fourth, taking advantage of three base hits, a groundout and an error.
- The lead changed again during the home half of the fourth, thanks to three Pioneer scores. Sophomore third baseman David Backo opened the frame with an infield base hit, DiGirolamo walked, and Ferrara flied out to leave runners on the corners. A failed pickoff attempt at first base allowed Backo to touch home, Yelin singled and Habeeb was issued a base on balls, loading the bags for Weis. His base hit up the middle drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, making it a 5-4 game.
- WP doubled its lead in the fifth. Senior left fielder Frankie Deane led off with a single up the middle, followed by a Backo walk and fielder's choice for runners on the corners with one out. The pitcher wasn't able to cleanly field Ferrara's bunt, a squeeze play that resulted in a run and a base hit.
- A Habeeb double down the left-field line and an Alarcon RBI-single up the middle pushed the Pioneers' lead to 7-4 after six innings.
- Rutgers-Camden used a triple and base hit to get one run back during the top half of the seventh.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Alarcon was 2-for-4 with two RBI, Yelin went 2-for-5 while scoring a run, and Ferrara finished 2-for-6 with a double and an RBI.
- Senior starter Jack DeFouw (2-0) went 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (one earned), seven hits and two walks while striking out four. Senior Zac Polzer provided 2.1 innings of one-run middle relief, scattering three hits and registering two strikeouts. Carter struck out one of the three batters he faced during a perfect ninth inning for his first save.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson hosts No. 14 Kean Thursday, March 25, at 3:30 p.m.
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