PISCATAWAY, N.J. - After having a conference bye, Rutgers baseball returns to Big Ten play with a three-game series at Ohio State starting Friday. The Scarlet Knights lead the league with 22 true road games played so far this season, having competed away for six previous weekends. That does not include a home-and-home set during the bye with Saint Joseph's.

The Friday and Sunday games against the Buckeyes will both be covered by BTN Plus.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend having won six of their last eight and seven of 10. That includes a 4-1 mark during a non-conference stretch that featured Fordham, Saint Joseph's and Seton Hall. Most recently, Rutgers split a tight midweek series against in-state rival Seton Hall. After suffering an extra-innings setback Tuesday, RU rebounded with a closely-contested 3-2 victory at Bainton Field. Freshman Serafino Brito (Oakland, N.J.) logged a career-high seven innings with one run allowed, while senior Reed Shuttle (Lansdale, Pa.) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to save the game. Offensively, freshman Jawuan Harris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) served as the catalyst with three runs and three stolen bases. Sophomore Milo Freeman (Millburn, N.J.) picked up two RBIs.

Rutgers is No. 58 in the latest D1Baseball.com RPI with the 18th-toughest strength of schedule.

For the season, senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) has reached base in 30 of 31 games he has played in to accumulate a .540 on-base percentage, which leads the Big Ten and ranks No. 10 nationally. The leadoff hitter also is first in the conference with nine times being hit by pitch, tied for second with 17 stolen bases, third with 33 runs, fourth with a .406 batting average and fifth with 33 walks. From the middle of the order, junior Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.) leads the lineup with four home runs and 26 RBIs (tied for seventh in the conference), with fifth-year senior Chris Suseck (Flemington, N.J.) having knocked in 25 (tied for ninth). Junior Christian Campbell (Sayreville, N.J.) is first on the team with a .444 batting average in league games.

Rutgers laps the Big Ten and ranks fifth in the country with 71 stolen bases this season, as Ohio State is next in the conference at 53. Harris, the league leader, is up to 24 swipes in 27 tries, now eighth in school history for steals in a single season. His total is fifth in Division I. Devish, who attempted to take home Wednesday, has seven steals in the last five games and is first nationally among catchers with 17 thefts and No. 26 overall. Marcinczyk is also in double figures at 10, while junior Gaby Rosa (Perth Amboy, N.J.) has the most on the squad without being caught at five.

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.). Brey is coming off six shutout innings in a win over Saint Joseph's, having worked a complete game with one run permitted in his previous start versus Indiana. For the season, the left-hander is second in the league with 54.1 innings pitched and tied for sixth with 48 strikeouts. He ranks sixth in school history with 170 career strikeouts and eighth with 245.1 innings pitched. Driscoll won for the third time in four starts with two runs permitted over five innings at Saint Joseph's. The right-hander also punched out a season-high seven and sat down nine of the last 10 batters faced. With there being only two games last weekend, O'Reilly slid back into the midweek and faced Seton Hall Tuesday. In throwing 75 pitches over five innings, he surrendered two runs and struck out four.

In the bullpen, redshirt junior Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) leads the staff with 13 appearances and four double plays induced. He ties Shuttle for the team lead in saves at three. In addition, junior Ryan Fleming (Churchville, Pa.) has not allowed an earned run in his last seven outings. The Scarlet Knights are pitching to a 4.10 ERA as a staff in 2016.

NOTABLE
Rutgers is plus four wins from the same point last season ... Brey has not permitted a stolen base in 141.1 innings dating back to 2014, the longest streak of its kind in the nation (no runner has even attempted this season) ... he is pitching to a 2.93 ERA in Big Ten starts this season with 11 strikeouts and one walk ... Rutgers has played in 15 games decided by two runs or less, including 11 one-run contests ... the team is 11-0 when out-hitting the opponent ... the offense has reached double-digit hits 11 times and scored 10 or more runs on six occasions ... RU is averaging 2.22 stolen bases per game, with 18 games stealing multiple bags and 18 steals in the last five games ... Harris has six multi-steal games and has taken third eight times ... the defense has made just three errors over the last eight games ... the catchers have combined for just three passed balls ... the bats have scored most in the fourth inning, totaling 30 runs ... Devish has reached base 27-of-50 times leading off an inning (.540), the same mark as his overall on-base percentage ... starting pitchers are averaging 5.28 innings per start with a 3.90 ERA.

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are coming off two midweek wins over Morehead State to improve to 12-1 at home, but previously suffered a sweep at Maryland. Led by nine by Jacob Bosiokovic, OSU is the top home run hitting team in the Big Ten with 36 this season. Nick Sergakis leads the team with a .380 average and 27 RBIs. On the mound, Tanner Tully will make the Friday start with a complete-game loss last time out versus Maryland, striking out eight with two runs allowed. Fellow left-hander John Havird will go Saturday and did not permit an earned run or a hit over eight frames versus the Terrapins. The Sunday starter is undecided.

This weekend's series will be played at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium, which is 330 feet down the lines, 370 to the alleys and 400 to centerfield. The surface is turf and the seating capacity is listed at 4,450.

Head coach Greg Beals is in his sixth season leading the program. Click here for more information on Ohio State baseball.

THE SERIES
Rutgers and Ohio State have met eight times previously on the diamond, including three games last season in the first Big Ten series played at Bainton Field. The Buckeyes took the opener, 13-4, but RU bounced back the next day with a dramatic 4-2 win. Down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Kyle Walker (Piscataway, N.J.) stepped up with a three-run walk-off home run to right field to give the Scarlet Knights the victory. Brey had previously pitched 7.1 scoreless frames in the game. However, OSU edged RU in the rubber game, 1-0, behind a shutout by Ryan Riga. Ohio State leads the all-time series, 5-3, but this weekend will mark the first games between the teams in Columbus, Ohio.

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights will play five games next week, starting with a Tuesday matchup at Bainton Field against Delaware State at 3:30 p.m. The team will then travel to Wagner for a Wednesday game before coming back home to face off with Penn State in a three-game series.

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