PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers baseball will begin the second half of its Big Ten schedule with a three-game series against Nebraska at Bainton Field starting Friday. It will mark the first conference games between the teams.

BTN Plus will have complete coverage of the set, while WRSU 88.7-FM will broadcast the Friday and Sunday contests. Click here for general parking information at Bainton Field.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
After winning its last league series over Penn State, Rutgers improved to 5-7 in the Big Ten standings and sits one game out of eighth place with 12 conference games remaining. The top eight teams qualify for the Big Ten Championships scheduled for late May in Omaha, Neb. RU also took 2-of-3 over Indiana and won one game at Ohio State.

The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 6-4 win over Villanova to become 12-5 in April, making it at least 12 wins in a month for the first time since going 14-5 in April 2012. RU is 12-2 at Bainton Field this season for the best home start since also being that record through 14 games in 2007.

In the Wednesday win over the Wildcats, Rutgers rallied from a 4-3 deficit in the bottom of the eighth inning to score three times. Freshman Carmen Sclafani (Toms River, N.J.) knocked in the tying run with a single, while junior Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.) came through with a two-out, two-run hit to put the Scarlet Knights ahead. The bullpen combined for 4.1 hitless innings to allow the comeback to take place. It was the first win for RU this season when trailing after six frames.

Senior Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.) is scheduled to make his 35th career start to begin the series against Nebraska. The left-hander has thrown a complete game in each of his last three Big Ten starts, including a shutout last time out versus Penn State. He leads the league with 72.1 innings pitched this season and is fifth with 61 strikeouts, sitting sixth (263.1) and tied for fourth (183) in school history in those categories, respectively. In 21 career home appearances, Brey is 10-2 with a 3.02 ERA, going 3-0 with a 0.38 ERA this season. In addition, he has not allowed a stolen base in 159.1 innings dating back to 2014.

Out of the bullpen, junior Ryan Fleming (Churchville, Pa.) has not allowed an earned run in 11 consecutive outings to lower his ERA to 0.92. Redshirt junior Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) leads the staff with 16 appearances and ranks tied for 10th in program history with 10 career saves. The staff as a group has pitched to a 4.08 ERA with 292 strikeouts.

Senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) has sparked the offense with a .534 on-base percentage to lead the Big Ten and rank seventh in the nation. He also leads the conference with 44 runs scored and is second with 21 stolen bases, second with 11 times being hit by pitch, fourth with 33 walks and fifth with a .383 batting average. Marcinczyk has 11 RBIs in his last six games to bring his season total to 37, which is third-most in the league. Junior Mike Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) is first on the team with a .395 batting average in 23 games played.

Rutgers is third in the nation with 94 stolen bases as a team this year, 34 more than any other Big Ten squad. The team mark is tied for second-most in team history, 12 behind the season standard. Freshman Jawuan Harris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) paces the conference and is fourth in the country with 30 swipes. That number is third-most in a year in program history. Devish is second in the league with 21, a number that is 23rd in the nation and leads all catchers. Marcinczyk is also in double digits at 13 thefts.

NOTABLE
Rutgers has won 17 of its last 20 at Bainton Field dating back to last season ... the team is in a stretch of playing at home in 8-of-9 contests ... RU is 14-0 when out-hitting the opponent ... the offense has reached double-digit hits 15 times and scored 10 or more runs on seven occasions ... RU is averaging 2.29 stolen bases per game ... the bats have scored most in the fourth inning, totaling 37 runs ... starting pitchers are averaging 5.36 innings per start with a 4.14 ERA ... RU has played 19 games decided by two runs or less ... Marcinczyk has 19 RBIs with two outs ... Harris has reached base in each of the last 13 games played and is on a nine-game hitting streak ... Brey is averaging 11.07 fly outs induced per game ... Rutgers leads the Big Ten with 183 walks drawn ... the Scarlet Knights are hitting .317 at home with a 3.17 ERA on the mound.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
The Cornhuskers come into the weekend having won four of their last five in non-conference play, previously suffering a sweep at Michigan in the prior Big Ten series. Most recently, NU beat Kansas, 3-1 in a Wednesday game played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Rutgers and Nebraska have no common opponent entering the series.

Ben Miller leads the offense with a .328 batting average, while Scott Schreiber is tied for first in the conference with 39 RBIs and second with nine home runs. On the mound, Derek Burkamper will make the Friday start and has worked to a 3.57 ERA. The right-hander pitched eight innings to beat Nicholls State in his last appearance. The Cornhuskers have hit to a .287 average and pitched to a 4.52 ERA this season.

Head coach Darin Erstad is in his fifth season in charge of the program. Click here for more information on Nebraska baseball.

THE SERIES
Nebraska will be making its first trip to Bainton Field, but RU and NU have met three times previously on the diamond. Most recently, the teams played at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., on April 28, 2013 with the Cornhuskers winning 3-1. Brey pitched two scoreless innings of relief that day. Nebraska also won the two prior encounters during the 2001 Lincoln Regional.

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

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights will wrap up a five-game homestand Tuesday at 1 p.m. versus Saint Peter's at Bainton Field. The next Big Ten series will be at Michigan.

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