April 23, 2017 Box Score
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Rutgers baseball built a 10-0 lead on the way to beating Iowa, 13-5, in the rubber game of the series Sunday at Banks Field. The Scarlet Knights have now won four of their last five Big Ten games to claim consecutive conference weekend sets.
RU (15-22, 4-5) plated 13 runs to record the most scored in a Big Ten road game since joining the league, matching the number set in a 2015 home contest versus Minnesota. The eight-run margin of victory signaled the highest for the team in a Big Ten game.
Sophomore Jawuan Harris served as the catalyst for the offense by reaching base the first five times up, recording three walks, a double, a single, two steals and three runs. Senior Tom Marcinczyk and freshman Kevin Welsh both had three hits, while sophomore Nick Matera blasted a three-run homer. Senior Mike Carter, sophomore Mike Martinez and senior Christian Campbell all added two hits apiece. The Scarlet Knights collected 16 hits overall with seven going for extra bases.
On the mound, junior John O'Reilly (4-5) won his third-straight start by pitching five innings. The right-hander picked up 10 outs in the air. Freshman Kyle Gerace came in relief and pitched two scoreless innings on his birthday, while sophomore Kevin Romero and freshman Eric Reardon each logged an inning to close it out. The bullpen did not allow a hit in four frames and registered six strikeouts.
Starting it off in the first inning, Harris worked a one-out walk and promptly stole second to move into scoring position. He would advance to third on a passed ball and ran home on a wild pitch. The action continued with two outs when Martinez walked and Campbell singled to bring up junior Chris Folinusz, who laced a two-run double down the right-field line.
Rutgers batted around in the third inning to score five more runs and build an 8-0 lead. Harris sparked the attack once again with a walk, as Martinez followed with an RBI double hammered off the right-center wall. Marcinczyk kept it going by hitting a single to put runners at the corners. Campbell then smashed an RBI single through the right side. After Folinusz bunted both runners up, Matera stepped in and launched a three-run home run on a 1-2 pitch to cap the outburst. It was his fourth long ball of the year.
Welsh made a sparkling play up the middle to strand the bases loaded in the third, with the Scarlet Knights keeping the offensive pressure on with two more in the top of the fourth. Harris walked for the third time, stole second, went to third on an error and scored on Martinez's second triple of the season. It was the second time in the game the left fielder struck the right-center wall. After that, Marcinczyk took advantage of the infield in and banged an RBI single through the right side to make it 10-0.
The Hawkeyes (23-15, 6-6) scored for the first time on a two-out, two-run home run by Matt Hoeg in the fourth, but the Scarlet Knights answered with three in the next half inning. Sophomore Carmen Sclafani was hit by a pitch as the leadoff hitter and Welsh singled to put two aboard. Carter then hit an RBI double to the left-field corner. A pitching change occurred, with Harris greeting the reliever with a first-pitch single to right field to bring home Welsh. Carter touched the plate on a double play to up it to a 13-2 game.
A three-run double by Robert Neustrom made it 13-5, but O'Reilly prevented further trouble by sitting down the next three. That would be all the scoring, as each side went down scoreless in the last four innings. Reardon finished off the game with two strikeouts and a fly ball in a 12-pitch ninth inning.
Cole McDonald (2-3) was charged with the loss for Iowa after permitting four runs in two-plus innings. The 13 runs marked the most allowed by the Hawkeyes in a game this season.
The Scarlet Knights will return to New Jersey for five games at Bainton Field, starting Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. versus Villanova. The next weekend series will be take place against Michigan.
NOTES
Rutgers won the last two games of the series at Iowa, who entered Saturday with a 12-1 home record this season ... Harris stole two bases to up his career total to 59, sixth in school history ... he now has 14 career games with two or more steals ... Marcinczyk had his 14th collegiate triple to move into sole possession of fourth place in the program record books in the category ... the game lasted three hours, four minutes with an attendance of 1,139.
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