CAMDEN, N.J. (March 27, 2018) - Despite three hits from senior
Christopher Franco, the FDU baseball team fell to Rutgers-Camden 15-8 Tuesday.
The Devils fell to 5-8 with the setback, while the Scarley Raptors improved to 7-5.
Both sides employed a number of different pitchers on the afternoon, as freshman
Joseph Kastner toed the rubber for his second start of the year. Kastner walked the first batter he faced, but senior
David Wilbur gunned out the runner trying to steal. After the rookie was relieved in the second, Rutgers-Camden scored three times in the second and once in the third, grabbing a 4-0 lead.
The Devils battled back for three of their own in the fourth. Franco led off with a double to left-center, while senior
Joseph Bonaccorso walked. After
Ian Havran reached on an error to load up the bases, Wilbur plated Franco with a single to left-center. Freshman
Matt Nodoro was hit by a pitch to score another run, while Havran scooted up on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to one.
Sophomore Arjun Alwis hurled a perfect fourth, while junior
Brandon Lopez allowed just one baserunner in his inning of work. With the Scarlet Raptors clinging to a one-run lead, Bonaccorso and Havran singled to lead off the sixth. Wilbur bunted them into scoring position, and Nodoro notched a run-scoring groundout to tie the game.
Rutgers-Camden staged a two-out rally to grab the lead for good in the sixth, scoring four times in the stanza. Only one of the runners in the frame were earned, as a two-out error prolonged the inning. The hosts tallied three more runs in the seventh and capped off their scoring with four in the eighth. Just like the sixth, all of the runs came with two-outs.
The Devils tried to mount a comeback in the ninth, as Franco doubled down the left field line to bring in two runs. The next hitter, sophomore
AJ Yurista, drove in Franco with a single to right. Two hitters later, Havran singled to right which scored Yurista. That would be as close as the Devils would get, as the next two batters were set down.
Franco went 3-for-5 with two RBI's and two runs scored, while Havran collected three hits.Bonaccorso worked a pair of walks and scored twice.
FDU is back in action on Friday, traveling to Purchase, N.Y. for a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom game against Manhattanville at 2 p.m.
