WINTER HAVEN, FL – The Maritime College baseball team fell behind 5-0 against No. 19 Rutgers-Camden on Saturday. The Privateers battled all the way back and had the winning run on first with two out in the bottom of the ninth. However,
Owen Weber (Staten Island, NY) flied out to right, and the Scarlet Raptors (12-5) held on for a 5-4 victory over Maritime (7-9) at Chain of Lakes Park.
Rutgers-Camden scored three runs in the top of the first and added another in the second. The Scarlet Raptors then made it 5-0 on Austin Dubler's RBI triple in the third. Rutgers-Camden starter Chase Cooper, meanwhile, shut down the Maritime offense. He didn't allow a baserunner until Weber's leadoff double in the fourth, and the Privateers notched just three hits over the first seven innings.
In the eighth, Maritime broke through for two runs off the Scarlet Raptors' bullpen.
Harry Leipold (Thornwood, NJ) drew a leadoff walk and came across on
John Carollo's (Staten Island, NY) RBI double. He later came around on
Alex Bardi's (Wantagh, NY) two-out, RBI triple.
Logan Martinson (Sumner, WA) was hit by a pitch leading off the bottom of the ninth. After
John Spallin (Holmdel, NJ) flied out,
Randy Ventura (Syosset, NY) and Leipold both singled to load the bases. With two down,
David Granucci (Medford, NY) singled home two runs, pulling the Privateers within 5-4. Weber was retired on a fly ball, though, and Maritime closed its Florida trip with a loss.
Carollo went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Bardi finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Granucci drove in a pair of runs.
Frank Santeramo (Garden City, NY) (0-2) lasted 2.2 innings on the mound. He surrendered four runs (two earned) on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Colin McKeon (Mullica Hill, NJ) pitched six innings of solid relief, holding the Scarlet Raptors to one run on two hits and striking out three without issuing a walk.
Jared Kay (Lewes, DE) picked up the last out on the mound.
As a team, Rutgers-Camden had just five hits. Steven Shaffer was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored, while Jack Murphy finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Dubler ended up 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Cooper (4-0) tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and three walks. He recorded one strikeout.
After playing five games in four days during the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, Maritime now has a week off before returning to action. The Privateers (0-0 Skyline) begin their Skyline schedule by visiting Old Westbury (7-5, 0-0 Skyline) for a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday, March 30.
