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CAMDEN, NJ – Rutgers University-Camden second baseman Nick Farragasso drove in three runs as the Scarlet Raptors defeated Franklin & Marshall College 8-4 at Campbell’s Field in the 2006 baseball season opener for the Diplomats. The game, played on a cold and windy day with occasional snow flurries, was the third consecutive win for Rutgers, who improve to 3-1 on the year, while F&M falls to 0-1. Rutgers jumped on the scoreboard in the first inning with four runs as Brian Jakubowski singled to left field and moved to second base on a ground out by Joe Midili. Following a wild pitch by F&M starter Ted Serro (Sr., Brooklyn, NY/Xavier) to move Jakubowski to third base, Matt Calloway walked to put runners on the corners with one out. Butch Amato followed with an apparent double play ball to end the inning, but a fielding error brought Jakubowski home and allowed Calloway to move up to second base. After a walk to Nate Butcher to load the bases, Faragasso brought the runners in with a double down the right field line. Serro worked out of the inning by striking out Mike Morris swinging, hitting Nick Turkenian and striking out Tyler Inkster swinging. The runs snapped a streak of 25 consecutive scoreless innings by Serro who hurled the Diplomats to a 3-0 victory over Dickinson College, a 1-0 victory over Johns Hopkins University in the opening game of the Centennial Conference Championships and threw nine innings of shutout baseball in the opening game of the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional against #6 nationally ranked Rowan University last year. The Diplomats had a chance to cut into the margin in the second inning as centerfielder Eric Milavsky (Sr., Medford, NJ/Shawnee) was hit by a pitch and stole second base. Catcher Stephen Frederick (Sr., Downingtown, PA/Downingtown) reached on a fielding error by Jakubowski at shortstop to move Milavsky to third base with one out. Following a foul out to the catcher, Frederick moved up to second base on a wild pitch. However, Rutgers’ starting pitcher Tom Ford struck out Rob Stern (So., Franklin Lakes, NJ/Indian Hills) swinging to end the threat. Serro mowed through the next seven batters he faced striking out three and allowing a single before the Scarlet Raptors struck again in the fourth inning. Leading off the inning, Turkenian reached base and advanced to second on a throwing error by Tom Miller (So., York, PA/Central York) and scored on consecutive wild pitches by Serro who retired the next three batters as Rutgers went into the top of the fifth leading 5-0. Franklin & Marshall pulled to within a run in the top of the fifth as Stern reached on a fielding error by Inkster at third base. Following a fly-out, Pat O’Reilly (So., Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) singled to right field to move Stern to second base. Gary Kruger (Sr., East Islip, NY/East Islip) drove in the first F&M run of the season with a single to center field which plated Stern and moved O’Reilly to second base with one out. Corey Caruthers (Sr., Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) singled to score O’Reilly and move Kruger to second before Jon Compitello (Sr., Yardley, PA/George School) slugged a single to load the bases. Milavsky hit into a fielders’ choice at second base which brought Kruger home and moved Caruthers to third to put runners on the corners with two outs. Frederick singled to left field to score Caruthers and cut the lead to 5-4, but Ford worked out of the jam by striking out Miller to end the inning. Serro left the game to start the bottom of the fifth as Josh Welk (Jr., Strasburg, PA/Lancaster Christian) came on in relief, but Rutgers-Camden put the game away with three unearned runs in the sixth inning, aided by one hit, three walks and two errors. Overall, Franklin & Marshall out-hit the Raptors 9-6 as Milavsky and Frederick each went two-for-four with an RBI. For the Scarlet Raptors, Calloway went two-for-three with a run scored and an RBI as the only Rutgers-Camden player with multiple hits. In the field, the teams combined for seven errors, including five by the Diplomats, as only four of the 12 runs in the game were earned. Serro (0-1) took the loss, working four innings of three-hit ball, allowing five runs (three earned) and two walks with five strikeouts. Ford earned the win scattering seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts and four runs (one earned) allowed in five innings.
The game marked the head coaching debut of Franklin & Marshall’s skipper Bill Walkenbach who takes over the program following two seasons as an assistant coach at Cornell University. Franklin & Marshall (0-1, 0-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season in a doubleheader on March 4 versus Fitchburg State University in the home opener. Game one is set to start at noon.
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