CNBNews

Down by two runs entering the bottom of the sixth inning, the Scarlet Raptors not only were being shut out by Susquehanna southpaw Ryan Beckwith (Mount Airy, MD/Linganore), but they were being no-hit as well.

Everything changed quickly in the sixth inning, however, and by the time the Scarlet Raptors finished sending 10 men to the plate, they had plated five runs, chased Beckwith and were on their way to an 8-3 victory over the River Hawks in a non-conference game.

Rutgers-Camden improved to 8-5, while Susquehanna fell to 6-8. The River Hawks were the eighth opponent that the Scarlet Raptors have played this year that has been either nationally-ranked or received votes toward one of the two Division III polls (D3baseball.com and ABCA) somewhere during the season. The River Hawks received 46 votes in the pre-season D3baseball.com Top 25 poll. Rutgers-Camden is now 6-2 against those teams.

Susquehanna scored single runs in the first and third innings off Scarlet Raptor sophomore starter Ian Scheidemann (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West), who evened his record at 1-1 with seven innings of seven-hit ball. He walked one, struck out two and allowed three earned runs.

Although the Scarlet Raptors left four runners on base over the first two innings, it wasn't until the fifth that they managed to get to Beckwith, sparked by a leadoff walk to senior rightfielder Zach Ellin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee). Sophomore second baseman Chris Jones (Washington Township, NJ/Bishop Eustace Prep) followed with a deep fly ball to center field, which barely eluded the glove of the River Hawks' outfielder on the warning track and then was kicked around. The resulting RBI triple and error that allowed Jones to complete his circuit around the bases suddenly tied the game at 2-2.

One out later, junior leftfielder Brett Kuchera (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood) drew a walk and advanced to third on a single by senior catcher Jon Theckston (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester Catholic). Freshman third baseman Matthew Stoots (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) walked to load the bases, knocking out Beckwith, who ended up taking the loss to drop his record to 0-2. Raptor senior first baseman Frank Cerami IV (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) greeted reliever James Panzarino (Fairfield, NJ/West Essex) with a two-run double to center. After freshman shortstop Nolan Gerold (Merchantville, NJ/Camden Catholic) was hit to reload the bases, sophomore centerfielder Peter Farlow (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) plated Stoots with a single through the left side of the infield. The River Hawks avoided further damage when Cerami was thrown out at the plate, and finally ended the frame when the 10th batter, Ellin, grounded out.

The Raptors added two runs in the seventh when a single by Jones and a double by senior designated hitter Doug Carter Jr. (Union, NJ/Union) set the table. One out later, Theckston drilled a two-run single.

After Susquehanna scored its final run in the top of the eighth, the Raptors matched that tally in the bottom of the frame when Ellin walked, stole two bases and scored on Kuchera's sacrifice fly to right.

Rutgers-Camden finished with seven hits, including two apiece by Jones and Theckston. Jones and Ellin scored two runs apiece, while both Theckston and Cerami had two RBIs.

The Scarlet Raptors return to action Tuesday with a 3:30 p.m. non-conference game at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham. They play a 3 p.m. contest at Stevens Institute of Technology Wednesday before returning home for a 3:30 p.m. makeup game against York College of Pennsylvania on Thursday. That game was postponed on March 5 due to weather.