PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers baseball will wrap up regular season play with a three-game series against Northwestern starting Thursday at Bainton Field. The set versus the Wildcats will signal the 12th different Big Ten opponent for the Scarlet Knights, completing the full league circuit in two seasons. Dating back to 2013, it will mark the 24th different conference weekend opponent for RU.

All three contests versus Northwestern will be available to watch through BTN Plus. WRSU will call Thursday and Saturday at 88.7-FM. Click here for general parking information at Bainton Field.

Prior to Saturday's series finale, RU will honor its six-member senior class in a ceremony. The group includes Kevin Baxter (Waterford, N.J.), Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.), R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.), John Jennings (Berkeley Heights, N.J.), Reed Shuttle (Lansdale, Pa.) and Chris Suseck (Flemington, N.J.).

SCOUTING RUTGERS
Sitting at 8-13 in conference play, the Scarlet Knights are still alive for a berth in the Big Ten playoffs scheduled to start next Wednesday in Omaha, Neb. RU will have to take three games to have a chance to get into the top eight of the standings, with other series also falling in favor. If tiebreakers come into play, Rutgers holds the head-to-head edge over Penn State and Maryland, but did not play Illinois and Iowa, two other teams in the mix. The eight Big Ten wins earned already surpass last season's seven with one more series remaining.

Rutgers enters Thursday having won three of its last four games, including a 12-3 rout of Saint Peter's Tuesday at Bainton Field that was shortened due to rain. Junior Gaby Rosa (Perth Amboy, N.J.) had a single, double and triple to highlight the offensive outburst, as the team totaled seven runs in the first inning for the first time since 2010. Baxter collected his second complete game of the season with three runs allowed over five innings. The triumph improved the record to 10-0 in home non-conference games. Before that, RU took a road series at Maryland by winning the first two games. It was the third Big Ten series win to add to beating Indiana and Penn State in previous weekends.

RU has played the 36th-toughest schedule in the country with an RPI at No. 74. The team is 15-4 at Bainton Field. Also worth noting, the Scarlet Knights have won six of their last seven series openers.

Devish reached base in 8-of-11 plate appearances against the Terrapins to raise his on-base percentage to .535, which continues to lead the Big Ten and ranks No. 7 nationally (first among seniors). Only three Scarlet Knights since 1984 have had an on-base percentage of greater than .500 for a season: Todd Frazier (2007, .502), Graig Badger (2004, .502) and Kevin James (1994, .529). The leadoff hitter also leads the Big Ten with 54 runs scored, second with 23 stolen bases, tied for third with a .382 batting average and 14 hit by pitches and fourth with 40 walks. The stolen base total leads all catchers nationally.

Junior Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.) knocked in two runs Tuesday to raise his RBI total to 45 (23 with two outs), fourth-most in the Big Ten. He is within range of reaching 50 for the year, which was last achieved by Patrick Kivlehan in 2012. Marcinczyk has blasted four home runs as well to match freshman Mike Martinez (West New York, N.J.) for the team lead. Over the last 10 games, Devish (.423) and freshman Luke Bowerbank (Bernardsville, N.J.) (.406) are both hitting over .400, while Marcinczyk and junior Christian Campbell (Sayreville, N.J.) have each knocked in eight over that stretch. Additionally, freshman Jawuan Harris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) is riding a 13-game hitting streak and has reached base in each of the last 17 games he has played.

The Scarlet Knights have a school-record 109 stolen bases this season, a total that leads all Big Ten teams by 27 and is fourth-most nationally. Harris paces the league and ranks No. 7 in the country with 32 swipes, with Devish next in line in the conference at 23. Marcinczyk is tied for sixth in the Big Ten with 18 thefts in 19 tries. In addition, Rosa is on the cusp of double-digits at nine. Northwestern has yielded a Big Ten-high 87 stolen bases this season.

Brey will make his final start on the Bainton Field mound Thursday, as he is pitching to a 0.84 ERA with three earned runs allowed over 32 innings at home this season. The left-hander leads the Big Ten with 93.2 innings worked overall and is fifth with 78 strikeouts. He threw his fourth complete game in conference play last time out at Maryland with a career-high 10 strikeouts. For his career, Brey is currently fourth in program history with 284.2 innings pitched, fourth with 200 strikeouts and tied for eighth with 18 victories. And he has not allowed a stolen base in 180.2 innings dating back to 2014, the longest streak in the nation.

Sophomore John O'Reilly (Northvale, N.J.) will follow in the rotation after earning his first win of the season with one earned run allowed over a career-high-tying seven innings at Maryland. The right-hander induced 13 outs on the ground. Freshman Serafino Brito (Oakland, N.J.) is scheduled to take the ball in the series finale. He went 5.2 innings against the Terrapins, allowing three runs in the outing. For the season, the right-hander is seventh in the league with a 3.90 strikeout-to walk ratio.

Out of the bullpen, redshirt junior Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) leads the staff with 19 appearances and five saves for the season. Shuttle and junior Ryan Fleming (Churchville, Pa.) have each entered 16 times.

NOTABLE
The Scarlet Knights are second in the Big Ten and rank No. 40 nationally with 232 walks drawn … the offense has reached double-digit hits 20 times and scored 10 or more runs on nine occasions … RU has played 22 games decided by two runs or less … the team is 18-1 when out-hitting the opponent and 15-1 when scoring seven or more runs … eight different Scarlet Knights have hit a home run … the pitching staff has six complete games in a season for the first time since having seven in 2012 … Saturday's game will mark the latest home game on the calendar since having a May 22 game in 2010, as RU played the earliest home game in program history back on March 2 … the warmest game-time temperature for a home game this season was 81 degrees on March 9 … the most runs have been scored in the third inning with 45 across … Rutgers is hitting .320 at home with a 3.57 ERA … the Scarlet Knights won 17 non-conference games, the most since having 22 in 2007 ... Rutgers has won seven consecutive home finales dating back to 2009.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats head into the final weekend of the season after having been swept in a home four-game series versus California. Before that, NU took all three from Purdue in a Big Ten series, having won games over Nebraska and Ohio State prior to mount a 5-16 conference record. Matt Hopfner leads the offense with a .360 batting average, while Joe Hoscheit has slugged seven home runs and knocked in 30. Left-hander Reed Mason has a 4.15 ERA as the first pitcher in the starting rotation. The team is hitting .256 overall with a 6.31 ERA.

Head coach Spencer Allen, an assistant at Illinois in 2015, is in his first in charge of the program. Click here for more information on Northwestern baseball.

THE SERIES
Rutgers and Northwestern will meet for the first time as Big Ten opponents, but the teams have played three times previously on the diamond. RU and NU split a pair of games in 1969 in Florida, with the Wildcats taking the victory, 7-5, on Feb. 27, 2010 as part of the Big Ten/Big East Challenge in St. Petersburg, Fla.

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

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights will travel to Omaha, Neb., for the Big Ten playoffs if the team finishes in the top eight in the final standings.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding baseball, follow the program on Twitter (@BaseballRU), Instagram (@rutgersbaseball) and Tumblr.