 |
 |
|
Monday, April 5, 2004 By Mike Ballard RAPTORS OF THE WEEK Rutgers-Camden freshman right fielder Autumn Millett continued her torrid hitting last week, going 9-for-18 (.500) with seven runs, three RBIs, two doubles, one triple and one home run during the Lady Raptors’ 5-1 week on the softball diamond. Millett posted an .889 slugging percentage during the week. She ran her hitting streak to seven games before it was snapped, then finished the week on a three-game hitting streak which included three extra-base hits. Overall, she has hit in 10 of her last 11 games, including six multi-hit games in that span. SOFTBALL (18-2/6-0) UPCOMING SCHEDULE The Rutgers-Camden softball team saw one winning streak come to an end, then immediately started another one as the Lady Raptors ran their record to 18-2 overall and 6-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference with another outstanding week. Rutgers-Camden went 5-1 in six games last week, including 4-0 in NJAC play. The Raptors swept a road doubleheader at Richard Stockton College March 30 by scores of 6-1 and 5-0, running their winning streak to 14 games. That mark tied the school record for consecutive wins, set March 19-April 4, 2002. The streak was snapped April 1 in a 1-0 loss against Ursinus in the Lady Raptors’ home opener, but the Raptors bounced back to win the nightcap, 2-0, and then won a road NJAC doubleheader at Rutgers-Newark April 3. SCARLET RAPTORS REPORT 2-2-2-2 Junior pitcher Becky Johnson (Bridgeton, NJ/Cumberland Regional) tied a school record with her fifth consecutive shutout to lead Rutgers-Camden over Rutgers University-Newark, 5-0, and complete the sweep of the NJAC doubleheader. In the opening game, sophomore Michelle Schlichtig (Barrington, NJ/Haddon Heights) hurled a one-hit shutout to post a 13-0 victory. In the opening game, Schlichtig raised her record to 9-2 with her third five-inning one-hitter this season. She allowed only a two-out third-inning single by freshman catcher Lauren Herbig in tossing her fifth shutout of the season. She didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven. The Lady Raptors gave Schlichtig all the runs she needed with a six-run first inning, sparked by a leadoff walk from freshman second baseman Stacy Haas (Florence, NJ/Florence). Junior shortstop Celeste Chinappi (Bellmawr, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) singled to left and both scored on a double to left-center by Schlichtig. One out later, freshman right fielder Autumn Millett (Richwood, NJ/Clearview Regional) drilled an RBI double. After freshman left fielder Tara Fisher (Upper Deerfield, NJ/Cumberland Regional) reached on a fielder’s choice, Fisher and Millett pulled a double steal, with Millett coming around to score on an error by the Raiders’ shortstop. Freshman catcher Mo Baney (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) plated Fisher with a sacrifice fly for the fifth run of the inning. Freshman first baseman Ashley O’Brien (Phoenixville, PA/Spring Ford) followed with a single and advanced to second on a walk to junior center fielder Beth Laputka (Berlin, NJ/Overbrook). O’Brien scored the final run on a single by Haas. Millett clubbed a solo home run in the second inning and Johnson drilled a two-run homer in the fourth, giving them five and six round-trippers, respectively. The Raptors added four more runs in the fifth inning, aided by Fisher’s two-run double. For the game, Baney went 3-for-3 with one RBI, Schlichtig was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs and O’Brien went 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Johnson had three RBIs and two runs scored with a 2-for-4 performance, while Haas went 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI. Chinappi and Millett each went 2-for-4, with Millett collecting three runs and two RBIs and Chinappi scoring twice. The nightcap belonged to the stellar pitching of Johnson, who tied the school mark of five straight shutouts set by Sarah O’Malley in 2002. Johnson, who raised her record to 9-0 while lowering her ERA to 0.36, stretched her consecutive scoreless innings streak to 31-1/3. The school record is 33 consecutive scoreless innings, shared by O’Malley (2002) and Halle Jones (1985). Johnson hurled a six-hitter, striking out six and walking two. Chinappi and O’Brien sparked the offense, each going 3-for-3. Chinappi had two RBIs and scored twice, while O’Brien added a pair of RBIs, including one on an infield single in the third inning to give the Raptors the lead for good. The Raptors’ record-tying winning streak was snapped by Ursinus College junior pitcher Erin Skinner, who tossed a four-hitter in the opener to record her fourth consecutive shutout. The Bears collected the only run Skinner needed on a two-out third-inning home run to left-center field by sophomore shortstop Marci Logan. Skinner (8-1) made that run stand up as she walked one and struck out three to earn her fourth consecutive shutout. She faced only one major threat when the Raptors loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth inning on singles Baney and Fisher, sandwiched around a walk to O’Brien. Skinner wriggled out of the jam with two foul pops, sandwiched around a pickoff at third base. In addition to snapping the Raptors’ 14-game winning streak, Skinner also snapped Millett’s team-leading seven-game hitting streak. Millett, who had gone 14-for-21 (.667) over that span, went 0-for-3 in the opener. Schlichtig was the tough-luck losing pitcher as she suffered her second 1-0 loss of the season. Schlichtig (8-2) allowed only four hits and didn’t walk a batter. She struck out seven. The Raptors bounced back in the nightcap as Johnson threw a one-hitter to record her fourth consecutive shutout. It was her fifth shutout overall. She had a perfect game going for 3-2/3 innings before walking senior first baseman Kristin Galie. Senior second baseman Jamie Ruhling followed with the Bears’ lone hit, a single, before Johnson worked out of the jam with a grounder to second base. Johnson walked three and struck out eight in her victory. The Raptors gave her all the runs she needed in the second inning when Fisher drew a leadoff walk and O’Brien slammed her first home run of the season to right field. The only player on the day who had a multi-hit game was the Lady Raptors’ junior left fielder Erin James (Gloucester, NJ/Gloucester), who went 2-for-3 in the nightcap. In their first doubleheader of the week, Millett went 5-for-5 as the Raptors swept Stockton to tie the school record with their 14th straight win. SCARLET RAPTORS REPORT 3-3-3-3 Schlichtig hurled a five-hitter in the opening game and recorded 12 strikeouts. Johnson tossed a two-hit shutout in the second game, which went only five innings due to darkness. She didn’t walk a batter and struck out five. The Raptors held a 2-1 lead in the opener until scoring four runs in the sixth inning. Millett, who on Monday was named the NJAC Rookie of the Week, went 3-for-3 in the first game, including a double, and scored two runs. O’Brien went 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs in the opener, while Fisher went 1-for-3, including a two-run single in the second inning to give the Raptors a 2-0 lead. In the nightcap, the Raptors collected seven hits and scored four unearned runs, aided by four Stockton errors. Millett and Baney each went 2-for-2 with one RBI. Millett also scored a run. Johnson helped her own cause with a double and two runs scored.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Ramapo senior Justin Ottman and junior Patrick Tuthill hurled complete-game victories as the Roadrunners swept Rutgers-Camden, 5-4 and 5-2. It was the first day of NJAC action for the Roadrunners, who were rained out of scheduled conference games Thursday and Friday. Ramapo improves to 10-4 overall and 2-0 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden falls to 10-9-1 and 1-2, snapping its four-game winning streak. Ottman (3-0) scattered 11 hits and three walks in the opener while striking out nine. He allowed four runs, three of them earned. With the score tied at 4-4, Ramapo pushed across an unearned run in the top of the ninth inning against Rutgers-Camden junior reliever Matt Novella (Lindenwold, NJ/Overbrook), who falls to 1-1. Pinch-hitter Mark Malyso reached on an infield error and was lifted for pinch-runner Gary Miller. Miller was forced at second on a fielder’s choice by senior infielder Mike Lallis, but junior right fielder Aaron Eyler collected an infield single and sophomore third baseman Brad Szatkiewicz walked to load the bases. Junior catcher Doug Aday, this week’s NJAC Player of the Week, delivered the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to center field. Junior first baseman Doug Meier went 3-for-3 with one RBI for Ramapo. Aday went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI for the Roadrunners in the opener.
Tuthill scattered seven hits and three walks, struck out six and allowed two earned runs in raising his record to 2-1. He allowed a first-inning run on an RBI single by junior third baseman Dustin Roach (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee), but Ramapo took the lead for good with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings off Raptors starter Tom Ford (Laurel Springs, NJ/Paul VI), 1-1. SCARLET RAPTORS REPORT 4-4-4-4
Freshman left fielder Mike Morris (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) went 2-for-3 for the Raptors, who return to action Tuesday when they entertain John Jay College in a 4 p.m. non-conference game. In their NJAC opener April 2, Murphy went 2-for-4, including a run-scoring triple, and Calloway ripped a solo home run as the Scarlet Raptors defeated Rutgers-Newark, 5-2, in a road game which ended after eight innings due to darkness. The Raptors scored twice in the first inning when sophomore third baseman Tyler Inkster (Audubon, NJ/Audubon) drew a walk and scored on a triple by Murphy. Murphy, who is second on the all-time NCAA Division III career list for triples, now has three this season and 25 for his Rutgers-Camden career. Murphy scored on an RBI single to center field by Carlino. The Scarlet Raiders scored a run in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by freshman second baseman Ryan Clark, but the Scarlet Raptors notched the eventual winning run in the fourth inning. Jakubowski drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a balk and advanced on a pair of ground outs, including a run-scoring grounder to shortstop by Calloway.
Calloway hit a solo home run in the seventh inning for his fourth round-tripper of the season. The Raptors were rained out of a scheduled non-conference game against Delaware Valley College March 31, and rescheduled the contest for May 4 at 7 p.m. That rainout came one day after the Raptors opened their week with an exciting non-conference win over Arcadia University. Freshman left fielder Nathan Buchter (Blackwood, NJ/Highland) hit an RBI double to cap a two-run eighth-inning rally as Rutgers-Camden edged Arcadia, 2-1, March 30 at Campbell’s Field. Buchter’s double scored his former high school teammate, Calloway. The late rally lifted the Scarlet Raptors’ record to 9-7-1, giving Rutgers-Camden its first three-game winning streak of the season. Arcadia, ranked No. 5 in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the latest American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball poll, falls to 10-6, snapping its nine-game winning streak.
That lead stood until the eighth inning on the strong pitching of Arcadia starter Nick Ntelekos, who worked six shutout innings, and reliever Matt Evanitsky. In the bottom of the eighth, however, Evanitsky hit Rutgers-Camden’s leadoff batter, Jakubowski. He was sacrificed to second by senior right fielder David Petitt (Lindenwold, NJ/Overbrook). Calloway’s double to right scored Jakubowski with the tying run. One out later, Buchter’s double to right-center plated Calloway with the winning run. Junior Matt Ulmer (Beverly, NJ/Holy Cross), the fourth of five Rutgers-Camden pitchers, collected the win with 3-2/3 shutout innings. He allowed three hits and no walks, while striking out four to raise his record to 3-2. The shutout stint lowered his ERA to 1.28. Ulmer allowed a two-out single in the ninth inning by sophomore right fielder Steve Calomito, and was relieved by junior righty Michael Wunderler (Blue Anchor, NJ/St. Joseph-Hammonton). Wunderler hit sophomore catcher Anthony Matranga, but worked out of the jam by striking out sophomore shortstop Tom DeCicco to earn his first save. SCARLET RAPTORS REPORT 5-5-5-5 TRACK AND FIELD April 3 Osprey Open (at Richard Stockton College) Rutgers-Camden School Records: Rutgers-Camden Winners: UPCOMING SCHEDULE The Rutgers University-Camden track team established three school records and received a pair of first-place finishes from junior sprinter Tameka Jackson (Pennsauken, NJ/Sterling) at the Osprey Open held at Richard Stockton College here Saturday. Jackson finished first in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in times of 12.90 and 26.23, respectively. She has finished first in all three 100-meter dashes she has run this season and in two of the four 200-meter events. The Lady Raptors’ team also established school records in the discus and the 5,000-meter run. Freshman Donna-Marie Kirk (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) broke her own short-lived discus mark with a throw of 113-9, finishing second in the event. She had established the mark of 113-3 in her first collegiate meet, March 20, at the Richard Stockton Invitational. Kirk also finished ninth in the shot put with a throw of 31-0.5. Senior Tina DiGiovanni (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood), meanwhile, set a school mark for the second consecutive week as she added the 5,000-meter standard to the record she set in the 10,000-meter run on March 27. DiGiovanni ran a 19:38.91 to win the 5,000-meter race. She broke the school mark of 19:44.20 set by Jill Chestnut April 7, 2001, also at the Osprey Open. On the men’s side, sophomore Michael Fox (Hainesport, NJ/Rancocas Valley) broke his own mark in the 1,500-meter run, finishing second with a clocking of 4:08.32. He had run the old standard of 4:17.3 on two occasions, most recently at the Salisbury University Opener March 6, 2004. Junior Matthew Weng (Lakehurst, NJ/Shawnee) placed second in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, cracking the 1:00-barrier for the first time this season with a 58.57 clocking. On the women’s side, junior Tiffany Logan (Turnersville, NJ/Washington Township) finished second in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a 1:11.69 clocking. She also was 11th in the 100-meter dash (14.12). Junior Amanda Thompson (Camden, NJ/Camden) finished third in the shot put (36-2.75) and seventh in the javelin (100-6), while sophomore Nafeesa Yusuff (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) finished ninth in the 100-meter dash (13.98) and 12th at 200 meters (29.38). The Rutgers-Camden men also received a 12th-place finish in the 100-meter dash by freshman Raphael Fuentes (Yonkers, NY/Haddonfield), who clocked 11.78 in the event. Junior teammate Taiwan Lamb (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) finished 13th at 100 meters (11.87) and 14th at 200 meters (23.90). SCARLET RAPTORS REPORT 6-6-6-6 GOLF April 2 MORAVIAN COLLEGE INVITATIONAL 1. Moravian College ‘A’, 298; 2. Lebanon Valley College, 312; 3. Keystone College, 314; 4. Delaware Valley College, 317; 5. Muhlenberg College, 321; 6. University of Scranton, 323; 7. Queens (NY) College, 326; 8. Dickinson College, 329; 9. King’s College, 330; T10. Elizabethtown College, 331; T10. Ursinus College, 331; T12. East Stroudsburg University, 332; T12. Rutgers-Camden, 332 (13th on tie-breaker); 14. DeSales University, 337; T15. Albright College, 340; T15. Messiah College, 340; 17. FDU-Florham, 346; 18. Centenary College, 372; Moravian College ‘B’, No Team Score Medalist: Dustin McCormick (Moravian A), 71. Rutgers-Camden medalists: Hugh Arbuthnot and John Goff, 82. Rutgers-Camden scores: Arbuthnot, 82; Goff, 82; Chris Kelley, 83; Brian Mason, 85; Brian Baskin, 89. UPCOMING SCHEDULE Junior Hugh Arbuthnot (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) and sophomore John Goff (Haddon Heights, NJ/Paul VI) each shot an 82 as the Rutgers University-Camden golf team competed in the Moravian College Spring Invitational April 2 in Bath, PA. The Scarlet Raptors shot a 332 as a team, but lost the tie-breaker to East Stroudsburg University, which also shot a 332. The Raptors finished 13th overall out of 19 teams. The Moravian College A team won the event with a score of 298, led by sophomore Dustin McCormick, who was the individual medalist. He shot a 71 on the par 71 Southmoore Golf Course. Freshman Chris Kelley (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield) finished third on the Raptors with an 83, while junior Brian Mason (Bridgeton, NJ/ Bridgeton) was fourth with an 85 on the cold, rainy day. Junior Brian Baskin (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) rounded out the Rutgers-Camden scoring with an 89. The Raptors return to action April 8 at the Widener University Invitational. Photos by Nancy Pope |
College Softball:
| ©2004 South Jersey Sports Online Inc. |