On a beautiful, windy day at Jeff Albies Field, the Pioneers faced the defending NJAC champions, the Rutgers-Camden Scarlet Raptors, in a doubleheader to open conference play.

Junior Jose Marte got the start for the first game, and Gavin McCaffery led off with a base hit up the middle. Marte quickly settled in, retiring the next batters, but Rutgers-Camden responded in the bottom of the first when Devin Daproza tripled and Dylan Santos singled him home. The Pioneers’ offense stalled as they struck out looking to end the inning.

Marte kept control in the second inning, facing just four batters. The Pioneers showed signs of life on the base paths, with Jordan Brown singling and Alex Gomez walking, but with men on first and second and one out, they failed to score as Austin Wokock struck out Santos to end the inning.

In the third, Marte continued to dominate despite hitting Gavin McCaffery with a pitch. Austin Dubler grounded into an inning-ending double play, and the Pioneers went down in order in the bottom half.

The fourth inning saw Rutgers-Camden scratch across a run. Jake Slusarski walked, Jacob Watson laid down a bunt single, and after a sacrifice bunt by Chris Smith, Ryan Joseph drove in Slusarkis with a sacrifice fly to center, tying the game at 1-1. The Pioneers’ bats went cold in the bottom half, striking out three times.

Marte rebounded in the fifth, though Matt McAleer was caught stealing and Gavin McCaffery struck out swinging for the only strikeout of the game for Marte. The Pioneers managed just one hit that inning, a single by Matt Caruso.

Trouble arrived in the sixth as Marte gave up back-to-back singles to Austin Dubler and Slusarski. Jacob Watson’s sacrifice bunt advanced runners, and a base hit by Ryan Joseph scored two runs, giving Rutgers-Camden a 3-1 lead. The Pioneers responded with Angel Colon and Stephen Kubis singling to start the inning, and Jesse Bash drove in Colon on a fielder’s choice to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Marte pitched one out in the seventh before being replaced by Jayden Villalta, who recorded the final two outs. Marte finished with three earned runs, seven hits, two walks, and one strikeout. Michael Whit came in for Wokoc and shut down the top of the Pioneers’ lineup.

Rutgers-Camden extended their lead in the eighth. Villalta allowed a single and two walks before being replaced by freshman JT Pugliese. Will Gural attempted a squeeze but was caught, and Evan Carbone’s grounder resulted in a throwing error, allowing two runs to score. Whit struck out two in the bottom half to preserve the lead.

The Scarlet Raptors added another run in the ninth. The Pioneers responded with a rally, starting with a single by Peluso and a groundout by Dylan Santos that kept the inning alive. Avery Whitney pinch-ran for Santos and advanced to third on a Caruso grounder. Ty Kobylakiewicz singled to score Whitney, Colon was walked, and Stephen Kubis drove in another run, narrowing the score to 6-4. A pinch-hit groundout by Thomas Jova ended the rally, and Rutgers-Camden held on to win the NJAC opener.

In the second game, Rob Nathan started for the Pioneers. An early error by shortstop Devin Daproza set the tone, and Rutgers-Camden jumped on the board with runs from Austin Dubler, Chris Smith, and Jacob Watson for a 3-0 lead. The Pioneers scored one run in the bottom half but continued to struggle with errors.

Nathan was replaced by JT DeRiso in the third after recording only one out. DeRiso kept the Scarlet Raptors at bay, though Rutgers-Camden added runs on doubles and singles in the fourth and fifth innings. The Pioneers cut the lead to 7-3 when Caruso singled and Ty Kobylakiewicz doubled, but the rally ended there.

DeRiso shut down the Pioneers in the seventh, and the Scarlet Raptors closed out the game with an 8-3 victory, taking the second game of the doubleheader.

Rutgers-Camden goes back .500, now at 10-9 on the season, they’ll travel to Chester, P.A. for a clash with Widener Univeristy. 

For William Paterson, this loss puts them at 6-11 on the year, they take a trip to Center Valley, P.A. for a noncofernece contest with DeSales University.