PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers baseball will start its second trip around the Big Ten with a three-game weekend series at Michigan State at McLane Baseball Stadium in East Lansing, Mich. It will be the first trip in program history to the state of Michigan.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights return to the road after having already played 16 true road games this season, the most amongst Big Ten teams. The trip to Michigan State marks the fifth-straight season starting league play away from home for the Scarlet Knights. Last season, RU took two games to win the series at Purdue, also winning opening conference series at then-No. 4 Louisville in 2013 and at Seton Hall in 2012.

Having played the last eight games on the road, Rutgers is coming off a 3-2 Wednesday loss at Rider. It was the fifth one-run game in the last eight contests for RU. Junior Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.) blasted his team-leading fourth home run of the season to break a tie game in the eighth inning, but the Broncs rallied for two in the bottom of the ninth. On the mound, freshman Serafino Brito (Oakland, N.J.) allowed just one run in a five-inning start, while junior Christian Campbell (Sayreville, N.J.) fanned seven of the 11 batters faced in three hitless and scoreless frames.

For the season, senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) continues to lead the Big Ten (No. 19 nationally) with a .531 on-base percentage as the leadoff hitter. He also ranks tied for first in the league with six hit by pitches, tied for second with 20 runs scored, tied for fifth with seven stolen bases, tied for seventh with a .393 batting average and eighth with 13 walks. Marcinczyk, an All-Big Ten pick last season, is also among the conference statistical leaders with 20 RBIs to rank tied for second, with nine of them coming with two outs. The outfielder is additionally tied for fourth with 15 walks.

The Scarlet Knights pace the Big Ten with 36 stolen bases in 40 attempts, nine more steals than second-place Penn State and Michigan State. Freshman Jawuan Harris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) is the conference leader with 13 swipes, also sitting No. 12 in the nation. Devish is next on the team with seven and Marcinczyk has six, as Rutgers has five games with three or more steals to average 1.89 per game (21st in the country).

Head coach Joe Litterio will stick with the usual starting pitching rotation: senior Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.), redshirt junior Kyle Driscoll (Toms River, N.J.) and sophomore John O'Reilly (Northvale, N.J.). For the season, RU starters have worked to a 3.56 ERA with an average of 5.05 innings per start. Brey is coming off his best performance of the year with one run allowed over eight innings at Navy. The left-hander has 30 strikeouts in 2016 to move his career total to 152, 10th in school history, and he has worked at least six frames in all five starts so far. Driscoll also turned in an effective outing last time out with seven strikeouts over five shutout innings to defeat NJIT. Rounding out the order, O'Reilly pitched in relief last weekend with no Sunday game, but gave up just one earned run over six innings in his last start at then-No. 16 Florida Atlantic.

NOTABLE
This will be the sixth consecutive road weekend for the Scarlet Knights ... Rutgers has eight wins through 19 games, an improvement of three wins at the same point last season ... the four opponents Rutgers has played in a three-game weekend series (Miami, George Mason, Old Dominion, Florida Atlantic) have combined for a 56-27 record ... the pitching staff has a 4.03 ERA, down from 7.52 at this point last year ... the catchers have combined for just one passed ball ... the seventh inning has been the most productive with 25 runs across ... seven different Scarlet Knights have hit one home run ... five of the wins this season have come by five runs or more ... Rutgers is 6-0 when out-hitting opponents ... Brey has pitched 120.0 consecutive innings dating back to 2014 without allowing a stolen base, the longest streak of its kind in the nation ... Devish is hitting .471 with runners in scoring position ... team is up to five road wins, matching the total from all of last year.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans, who have been in the top 25 this season, lead the Big Ten with 15 non-conference wins. The team has played 14 neutral site contests and won 13 times, but did drop two games in a road set last weekend at USF. MSU did take its home opener over Central Michigan, 4-1, Wednesday at McLane Baseball Stadium. Jordan Zimmerman is leading the attack with a .429 average, while Brandon Hughes has knocked in 15 runs. On the mound, Friday starter Cam Vieaux has worked to a 1.19 ERA and hitters have batted .222 against. As a team, Michigan State leads the Big Ten with a 2.15 ERA and is second with a .325 batting average.

This weekend's series will be contested at McLane Baseball Stadium, which sits along the banks of the Red Cedar River. It is an all-natural surface with it being 340 feet to left field, 400 to center field and 302 to right field.

Head coach Jake Boss Jr. is in his eight season in charge of the Spartans. Click here for the full Michigan State weekend preview.

THE SERIES
Rutgers will be making its first trip to Michigan State, but the teams have met 12 times previously on the diamond. The includes the Spartans taking three games last season at Bainton Field on the strength of nine home runs in the series. Prior to that, the programs played nine times on neutral fields in Florida, as MSU leads the all-time series, 10-2. RU last won in the matchup, 8-6, on March 19, 1985 in a game played in Miami.

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights will return home to Bainton Field Tuesday for the first time since March 9 to host Monmouth at 3 p.m. The teams will also meet Wednesday at the same time in West Long Branch, N.J. RU will then host Indiana next weekend in a Big Ten series.

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