Game 1: Box score

Game 2: Box score

Flemington, NJ... The College of New Jersey baseball team dropped a pair of games to Rutgers University-Newark 4-0 and 8-3.

The losses drop the Lions (15-17, 8-7 NJAC) to fifth place in the conference heading into final week of conference play. Six teams make the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs and TCNJ still has a chance to host in the post-season.

Game 1

The Lions were shutout by Billy Ceruti and the Rutgers University-Newark squad as Ceruti threw eight and one-third innings allowing just seven hits while striking out three. Missing senior Chris Esperon (Union, NJ/Union Catholic) and sophomore Mike Galeotafiore (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers) from the line-up, the Lions' offense sputtered in the opener.

The Scarlet Raiders scored three runs in the third inning off staff ace Connor Henderson (Monmouth, Jct./South Brunswick). An RBI double by Joe Furnaguera and a two-run home run off the bat of Matt Lingo propelled Rutgers to a critical win after dropping a 9-8 decision to New Jersey City University on Friday.

It was the first loss of the season for Henderson (6-1), who surrendered just five hits in eight innings of work.

Freshman Scott Kelly (West Windsor, NJ/West Windsor North) had a pair of hits out of the leadoff spot.

Game 2

TCNJ didn't give themselves much of a chance in the back-end game as they allowed seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Scarlet Raiders knocked out five hits and drew a couple walks to take command of the game from the start.

Senior Greg Spatz (4-3) has thrown well in his last three starts, but it simply wasn't his day. The Lions managed to score three runs on nine hits after being shut out in the opener, but it wasn't enough.

Junior Jason Zegarski (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) and freshman Mike Murphy (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) chipped in with a pair of hits. Junior Anthony Palmiotto (Manchester, NJ/Manchester) had a base hit and score two runs for TCNJ.

The Lions have five consecutive home contests this week beginning with Stevens Institute of Technology on Tuesday at Ackerman Park at 3:30 p.m.