PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers baseball is set to host Penn State in a three-game Big Ten series at Bainton Field starting Friday at 2 p.m. The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend having won nine of their last 13, also holding a 9-1 overall home record in 2016.

All three games against the Nittany Lions will be broadcast by BTN Plus online, with WRSU 88.7-FM delivering the radio call. Click here for general parking information at Bainton Field.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights will attempt for the sixth time to reach the .500 mark after winning a pair of midweek games. Freshman Serafino Brito (Oakland, N.J.) pitched six shutout innings with only one hit allowed, as RU blanked Wagner, 8-0, on the road Wednesday. Junior Mike Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) contributed three RBIs offensively. Prior to that, Rutgers beat Delaware State Tuesday, 12-8, at Bainton Field in the first meeting between the programs. Junior Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.) and sophomore Kyle Walker (Piscataway, N.J.) both knocked in three runs, with senior Reed Shuttle (Lansdale, Pa.) pitching a season-high three innings of relief for the win.

RU is off to its best start in home games since also being 9-1 at Bainton Field in 2010. This weekend will mark just the second home series for the Scarlet Knights, as the previous one went down as a series win over Indiana. Overall, Rutgers is listed at No. 60 in the latest D1Baseball.com calculation, playing the 27th-toughest schedule.

Carter leads the bats with a .403 average this year and has reached base in each of the last 11 games. Senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) is at .381 to rank tied for sixth among all qualifying Big Ten hitters. Recently named to the Johnny Bench Award watch list as a top catcher in the nation, he is first in the conference with a .531 on-base percentage (eighth nationally) and 40 runs scored, while being tied for first with 10 times being hit by pitch, second with 19 stolen bases and tied for fourth with 30 walks. Leading the lineup with four home runs, Marcinczyk is sixth in the league with 30 RBIs, as fifth-year senior Chris Suseck (Flemington, N.J.) is right behind at 29 knocked in. Junior Christian Campbell (Sayreville, N.J.) is first on the team with a .333 batting average in Big Ten games.

Born to run, the Scarlet Knights rank fifth in the nation with 82 stolen bases, which is already sixth-most in a single season in program history. The total is 23 more than the next-highest team mark in the Big Ten. Freshman Jawuan Harris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), who has reached base in the last 10 games, paces the conference with 27 steals, fourth-most in the RU record books. Craig Badger sent the season standard with 41 thefts in 2003. Right behind Harris in the conference, Devish has taken 17 bases in 19 tries to lead all Division I catchers. Marcinczyk is third on the squad with 11 steals, while junior Gaby Rosa (Perth Amboy, N.J.) has eight in as many attempts. Rutgers has 14 games this season with at least three swipes.

Having thrown a complete game in three of his last four Big Ten starts, senior Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.) will make his 10th start of the season Friday. The left-hander has won his last three starts, including beating Ohio State last week with a career-high 130 pitches. He only allowed one run and four hits after the first inning versus the Buckeyes and struck out the side in the ninth. Brey is second in the Big Ten with 63.1 innings pitched this season and fifth with 54 strikeouts, being sixth (254.1) and fifth (176) in those categories in the RU record books. Also worth noting, he has not allowed a stolen base in his last 150.1 innings pitched, the longest streak of its kind in the nation (no runner has even attempted this season). Sophomore John O'Reilly (Northvale, N.J.) will slide up in the rotation to make the Saturday start. The right-hander turned in a quality start at Ohio State with two runs permitted over six innings, having thrown worked five innings in his prior turn at Seton Hall. The Scarlet Knights have yet to announce a Sunday starting pitcher.

Out of the bullpen, redshirt junior Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) leads the staff with 14 appearances and hurled two scoreless frames last Sunday at Ohio State. Herrmann and Shuttle both have three saves. In addition, junior Ryan Fleming (Churchville, Pa.) has not allowed an earned run in eight consecutive outings to lower his ERA to 1.12. As a unit, the pitchers have worked to a 3.03 ERA in home games this season.

NOTABLE
Rutgers is plus six wins from the same point last season … the team has won 15 of its last 17 at Bainton Field dating back to 2015 … the team is in a stretch of playing at home in 9-of-11 contests … overall, the Scarlet Knights are in the midst of playing 15 games in 20 days … RU is 13-0 when out-hitting the opponent … the offense has reached double-digit hits 14 times and scored 10 or more runs on seven occasions … RU is averaging 2.22 stolen bases per game … Rutgers is averaging 8.7 runs per home game … the bats have scored most in the fourth inning, totaling 37 runs … starting pitchers are averaging 5.31 innings per start with a 4.08 ERA … RU has played 12 games decided by one run … Suseck is fifth in the nation with six sacrifice flies … Devish has reached base 31-of-58 times when hitting first in an inning … Brey is averaging 11.94 fly outs per games, while O'Reilly is at 12.91 ground outs per game … half of Marcinczyk's RBIs (15) have come with two outs.

SCOUTING PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions enter the weekend having won six of their last seven games, but did take a 10-9 loss at Kent State most recently. PSU holds series sweeps over both Purdue and Northwestern in the Big Ten. The pitching staff has worked to a 3.30 ERA overall, with closer Jack Anderson at 0.72 and a league-high nine saves. Friday starter Taylor Lehman did not allow an earned run in a 4.1-outing last time. Offensively, Jim Haley leads the team with a .356 average, while Greg Guers has driven in 27 runs. Guers also has 14 stolen bases and was named NCBWA National Hitter of the Week Monday after going 13-of-17 over four games the previous week.

Head coach Rob Cooper is in his third season in charge of the program. Click here for more information on Penn State baseball.

THE SERIES
Penn State will be visiting Bainton Field for the first time, last visiting Rutgers' campus in 1987. However, the Nittany Lions did participate in the 2000 NCAA Regional hosted by the Scarlet Knights in Upper Montclair, N.J. The programs used to both be part of the Atlantic 10, with PSU leading the all-time series, 36-29. Penn State took all three games last season at its home park in the first conference series between the teams since 1987. Also worth noting, current director of operations Glen Gardner hit a home run to help sweep that 1987 set.

In last season's series, Marcinczyk led the Scarlet Knights by hitting 7-for-12 with four runs scored. Campbell added a home run.

PSU will mark the sixth Big Ten team to take a trip to RU, joining Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State, Iowa and Indiana.

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights will play Ivy League champion Columbia on the road Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. before coming back to Bainton Field to host Villanova Wednesday at the same time. The next league series will be home versus Nebraska.

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