Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Sparked by early offense and an effective start by sophomore Kevin Baxter (Waterford, N.J.), Rutgers baseball returned to the win column with a 7-4 victory over Columbia Wednesday at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights were able to build a 7-1 advantage after four innings of play.

Making his fourth start of the season, Baxter (2-1) was sharp over 6.1 innings with four hits and three runs allowed. The right-hander struck out a career-high five batters in the 75-pitch outing, sitting down 10 consecutive hitters during one stretch. Following up, sophomore Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) escaped a seventh-inning jam and tossed a scoreless eighth, with freshman Ryan Wares (Howell, N.J.) closing out the ninth. RU permitted six hits on the day.

Offensively, freshman Kyle Walker (Piscataway, N.J.) batted cleanup for the first time this year and produced three RBIs, while senior Vinny Zarrillo (Forked River, N.J.) scored three times as the leadoff hitter and collected two hits. In addition, senior Joe D'Annunzio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) came home twice and drilled a two-run single. The bats registered eight hits, three walks and four hit by pitches.

After Robb Paller hit a solo home run to give Columbia (19-12) the lead in the first, Rutgers (12-23-1) answered with two of its own. Zarrillo started with a single and D'Annunzio and Marcinczyk both walked to load the bases and force an early pitching change. Walker productively took advantage of the situation by lifting a sacrifice fly to center, also moving D'Annunzio to third. Immediately after, D'Annunzio came in on a wild pitch to give the Scarlet Knights a lead they would not relinquish.

After Baxter forced three quick fly outs in the second, RU tacked on two more. Freshman Doug deMarrais (Bernardsville, N.J.), making his first career start at catcher, roped a one-out double for his first collegiate hit to start the affair. After an out and a pitching change, Zarrillo was struck by a pitch and stole second. D'Annunzio then stepped up and laced a two-out, two-run single through the left side to make it 4-1.

Rutgers added three more in the fourth to take a six-run lead. Junior John Jennings (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) and Zarrillo began the rally with singles, as D'Annunzio was hit to load the bags. The Lions gained momentum back with a strikeout, but Walker turned the tide with a two-run single up the middle. Two batters later, sophomore Mike Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) hit a run-scoring fly ball to cap the frame.

Baxter kept control in the fifth, throwing just three pitches to retire the side. He hit the first batter, but recorded a pop-up and a double play right away.

Columbia, the two-time defending Ivy League champions, did not back down and used a Randell Kanemaru two-run long ball to chip back in the sevetnth. However, Herrmann entered later in the inning with two on and one out, inducing a double play to escape. The Lions did score again in the ninth and brought the tying run to the plate, but Wares quelled the situation to seal the win.

The visitors used eight different pitchers in the afternoon contest, with starter Zack Bahm (1-1) suffering the loss. Rutgers has now taken three of the last five meetings with Columbia.

Going undefeated in the midweeks, RU will return to Big Ten play Friday (3 p.m.) to start a series against Michigan State. The three-game set will be broadcast by both BTN Plus and WRSU.



NOTES
Rutgers saw 16 different pitchers over the last two days ... the team in now 6-3-1 when scoring in the first inning and 8-1 when scoring at least six runs ... it was the first win this season when giving up multiple homers ... Zarrillo leads the Scarlet Knights with 13 multiple-hit games ... the game lasted two hours, 38 minutes and the temperature at the start was 72 degrees.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding baseball, follow the program on Twitter (@BaseballRU), Instagram (@rutgersbaseball) and Tumblr.