PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Entering year two in the Big Ten, Rutgers baseball looks to make an impact with a roster mixed with established veterans and talented freshmen. The Scarlet Knights hope to build off of lessons learned from last season under the direction of head coach Joe Litterio, who enters his third season as the leader of the program.

"I think last year we got caught up in going into the Big Ten for the first year and setting expectations too high," Litterio said. "This year we just talked about playing each series as a series, trying to win that series. I think we got too big in our heads and our goals to where guys were coming off a 30-win season in 2014 as a lot of freshmen, it came easy to them. So that was one of the major things, to make it small again."

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The team has been practicing as a unit since Jan. 29 and the weather cooperated for seven intrasquad scrimmages at Bainton Field to allow the players to experience live game action. Despite, the snow of late, the Scarlet Knights have been working out in the Bubble and hitting in the cages at the RAC.

Rutgers returns 20 letterwinners this season, including five seniors, and adds 12 newcomers. The roster is made up of 34 players from New Jersey, two from Pennsylvania and one from Florida. Fifth-year senior John Jennings (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) and senior Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.) return as team captains, while senior Chris Suseck (Flemington, N.J.) and junior Mike Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) were also named captains in the fall.

"The team chemistry is very good," Litterio said. "The freshmen seem to be adjusting to the older guys taking control."

Litterio is in his 15th season overall as a head coach and is joined by the same staff as last season, including assistant coaches Tim Reilly and Casey Gaynor and volunteer assistant Lou Clemente. Glen Gardner returns for his 26th year on staff as direction of baseball operations, as all members of the staff played baseball at Rutgers.

SCHEDULE
After playing the past three seasons in three different conferences, Rutgers now has a home in the Big Ten. Last season, the Scarlet Knights earned series victories over Purdue, Minnesota and then-No. 13 Iowa. Click here to view the full 2016 schedule.

"It's very important to now have a stable league," Litterio said. "You start to learn what teams and coaches like to do. Being in three different leagues in the last three years is difficult because you don't get a feel for the opponent. We still haven't seen everyone in the Big Ten, so this year will be a year of trying to learn some other teams. But still, it is going to be good to get some consistency where we know what we are getting into."

The Big Ten schedule will start off with series against Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State and Penn State, all opponents Rutgers saw last year. Then the docket moves to four unfamiliar teams: Nebraska, Michigan, Maryland and Northwestern.

"I think what we've learned about that Big Ten is that it is a much more physical league then we were used to," Litterio said. "One through nine in most lineups have the chance to knock it out of the yard. It's something that we have to adjust to and from our team's sake and recruiting-wise getting bigger guys and trying to match what they have. The travel was also a learning point. We want to do a better job of feeding these guys and do a better job of watching out for breakdowns in terms of the body. It's a grind and that's a big part of the experience."

In non-conference play, the Scarlet Knights will start once again at Miami, a team that is coming off a College World Series appearance. The first few weeks also call for trips to George Mason and Old Dominion before heading back to Florida to face Florida Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast during spring break.

"We've got some guys fighting for spots," Litterio said regarding the early part of the season. "We've got some guys in starting roles that haven't been in that position and we'll see how they handle it. Also we have some injures that we are trying to recover from and see where they are in that recovery process. We want to step right into it and start to play our best baseball. We are hoping guys will push each other try to take spots."

Rutgers is set for 21 home games at the cozy confines of Bainton Field, a place where the Scarlet Knights have put up a winning record in each of the past four seasons. Several improvements have been made, including signage across the park, adding turf to home plate for better field management, the donation of 20 Christmas trees as a batter's eye and safety nets in front of each dugout.

PITCHING
Brey is leader of the staff, and a Big Ten Player to Watch, bringing 50 games of experience on the mound with 24 starts. The left-hander led the team with 80.2 innings and 56 strikeouts last year, capping the campaign with a complete-game win over a ranked Iowa team. Following up, redshirt junior Kyle Driscoll (Toms River, N.J.) brings power arm from the right side and is averaging 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings over 27 collegiate games. Also a right-hander, sophomore John O'Reilly (Northvale, N.J.) moves to the weekend rotation after primarily starting midweek games last season. He had four wins and two saves as a freshman.

The pitching depth is there, with redshirt junior Kevin Baxter (Waterford, N.J.) continuing to develop two years away from Tommy John surgery. Junior Ryan Fleming (Churchville, Pa.) also brings experience with 28 career games (12 starts) from the left side. In addition, freshmen Dante Scafidi (Washington Township, N.J.) and Serafino Brito (Oakland, N.J.) have impressed throughout the offseason and could see time on the mound.

Out of the bullpen, redshirt junior Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) is capable of serving as the closer and working multiple innings in an outing. The left-hander has returned to his 2014 form in practice, as he pitched to a 2.57 ERA over 22 games and 42 innings. Coaches have also seen flashes from senior Reed Shuttle (Lansdale, N.J.), redshirt freshman James Torres (Bloomfield, N.J.) and freshman Kevin Romero (Garfield, N.J.) throughout the offseason, with others making progress to show reliability and earn innings in relief.

"The pace of the game is something we are starting to touch on a little more which I'm excited about," Litterio said. "I want these guys to work at a quicker pace. I think that the pitchers who stand around on the mound and slow everything down, that hurts you defensively. It gives the batters a chance to get more comfortable in the box. That's something we talked about making them as uncomfortable as we can have the ball and be ready to go. You can notice on a few other guys that weren't as fast are starting to pick it up."

CATCHER
A converted infielder in 2013, senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) is now an established leader behind the plate for the Scarlet Knights with 77 career starts at the position. He displayed significant improvement last season in terms of guiding the staff, blocking pitches and throwing out runners. At the plate, he had a .368 on-base percentage and tied for eighth in the Big Ten with 13 stolen bases. Freshman Nick Matera (Roxbury, N.J.) is projected as the backup after a strong fall and productive preseason.

"R.J. brings another year of experience in that spot after being a guy that learned the spot on the fly," Litterio said. "He's much more confident than he's ever been. At catcher, I'm looking for leadership behind the plate and he has that with the pitchers. They are all comfortable working with him. Offensively, he has been working very hard, but I am pleased with how he controls the game defensively.

"And behind him, Nick's a freshman that swings a big bat. He is the type of a Big Ten kid, a big kid that has power. He also has an outstanding throwing arm and is going to find himself in there with some playing time."

INFIELD
Rutgers has flexibility on the infield with players able to move around the diamond based on a variety of factors. Suseck will primarily see action at third base after having to move to second base last season due to injuries. Last season, he led the team with 14 doubles, was second with 30 RBIs and third with 12 stolen bases. Suseck can also play first base along with sophomore Kyle Walker (Piscataway, N.J.). Walker, a left-handed bat, was productive as a freshman with 24 RBIs and had the highlight of the year with a three-run walk-off home run to beat Ohio State at Bainton Field.

Up the middle, Jennings is the veteran of the squad and the projected starting second baseman. He is in his fifth year in the program and helped turn 23 double plays in 2015. Jennings can play any of the four infield spots. At shortstop, junior Gaby Rosa (Perth Amboy, N.J.) has grown into the position following the offseason injury of classmate Christian Campbell (Sayreville, N.J.). Campbell has rehabbed and could be back sooner than later in the field or on the mound. As for Rosa, he is now a full-time position player and made strides in the fall to becoming a reliable defensive player.

Also in the mix in the infield is sophomore Milo Freeman (Millburn, N.J.), who could also earn at bats at designated hitter. He played in 47 games and picked up 38 hits as a rookie.

"We can move the infield around based on what the lineup calls for," Litterio said. "Gaby will be playing shortstop for the first time since high school, but we believe he can adjust quickly. He is very athletic with a great arm, range and quickness. He is 100 percent committed to playing defense and it has showed. Campbell is rehabbing and might be healthy soon in some capacity. That injury hurts us, but we have options. The lineup will be based on matchups and production, but I like what I am seeing."

OUTFIELD
Carter and junior Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.), both Big Ten Players to Watch, solidify both center and right field, respectively, for the third-straight season. On his way to earning Third Team All-Big Ten honors, Marcinczyk ranked seventh in the conference in slugging percentage (.507), 15th in on-base percentage (.409) and tied for 10th in home runs (7). He also led Rutgers with a .325 average, 66 hits and 36 RBIs. Defensively, he had five outfield assists. Carter has returned to his 2014 self when he was named Freshman All-America by Collegiate Baseball. He is forecasted once again as the leadoff hitter.

"Carter last year struggled by thinking he had to do more than what he did his freshman year," Litterio said. "I think last year was a good learning experience for him to deal with failing and he came back even more determined this year. He's shown it every which way - on the field, in the locker room - and I expect big things from Mike this year.

"Marcinczyk really broke through last year. And he's one of our power guys with potential to carry us offensively. I also like what he does defensively with a very strong arm. I am excited about Tom's development."

With the graduation of Vinny Zarrillo, left field has become a battle between three freshmen: Luke Bowerbank (Bernardsville, N.J.), Jawuan Harris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Mike Martinez (West New York, N.J.). Bowerbank was a first team all-state selection in high school last year, while Martinez, also previously an all-state pick, has bounced back from a football injury sustained in high school. Harris, a member of the Rutgers football team as well, is the one right-handed bat in the group and comes off a senior year where he hit .440 with 44 stolen bases. He was recently listed as the "Best Athlete" in the Big Ten by Baseball America.

"Those are three talented guys," Litterio said. "I think we may platoon them early on, and see who steps up. They all have very good speed, good arms and can swing it."

OUTLOOK
Rutgers has taken the approach of looking at game-by-game and series-by-series in hopes of adding up victories as the season prolongs. Academically, Litterio said the program is striving for a team 3.2 GPA.

"Going through a year like we did last year, I think it made a lot of the guys much more focused," Litterio said. "I think it showed the importance of practice and doing the little things, because their freshman year, these kids, it came easy. We had 30 wins and made the AAC tournament. But, last year I think was humbling. It showed that we've got to put in a lot more work if we want to be as good as we want to be. I think that's a big thing to touch on and hopefully they're focused to do it."

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