April 24, 2017
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Starting a season-long five-game homestand, Rutgers will welcome Columbia to Bainton Field for a Wednesday game. The contest between the Scarlet Knights and the Lions will start at 3:30 p.m. and air on a one-camera stream through BTN2Go.
UPDATE - Tuesday's scheduled game against Villanova was rained out...
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a series win at Iowa, taking the last two games by the scores of 5-3 and 13-5. The Hawkeyes, who entered the weekend 11-1 at home, won the first game before RU rallied on Saturday behind a quality start by sophomore Serafino Brito and 10 hits from the last five batters in the order. The contest aired on Big Ten Network. Then on Sunday, Rutgers slugged seven extra-base hits and scored 13 runs, the most plated by the team in a Big Ten road game since joining the conference. Sophomore Jawuan Harris reached base the first five times to the plate and sophomore Nick Matera blasted a three-run home run. In addition, both senior Tom Marcinczyk and freshman Kevin Welsh collected three hits apiece, as the 16 totaled overall were the most for Rutgers in a Big Ten game.
Combined with the series win the previous weekend over Purdue, Rutgers has won four of its last five league games to vault into eighth place in the standings after an 0-4 start.
Senior Mike Carter hit .462/.481/.615 with a home run, five runs and five RBIs in five games last week and continues to lead the league with a .391 batting average for the season, which ranks No. 33 nationally. He is also first in the Big Ten with 59 hits, third with a .453 on-base percentage, tied for third with 12 doubles and sixth with a .543 slugging percentage. Seeing time at designated hitter, first base and left field, Carter has reached base in 34-of-37 games this season and has 18 multiple-hit performances.
Carter is now up to 197 career hits, while Marcinczyk is closely behind at 194. There are currently 15 players in program history who have reached 200 career hits as a Scarlet Knight.
Harris stole three bases last week to take over as the Big Ten leader with 22 for the season. He is seventh nationally in the category, sitting fifth in steals per game at 0.59. The outfielder is at 59 in his collegiate career, which is sixth-most in the school record books.
Rutgers is scheduled to send senior Christian Campbell to the mound on Wednesday. The right-hander allowed just two hits in 5.1 innings last week versus Seton Hall and is holding opponents to a .265 average against in eight appearances in 2017.
Out of the bullpen, senior Ryan Fleming leads the staff and is tied for sixth in the conference with 18 appearances on the season. The left-hander collected five outs in relief in Saturday's win. Fifth-year senior Max Herrmann has five saves and 14 in his career, tied for third-most in school history.
NOTABLE
Rutgers is 41-11 since 2015 when scoring at least six runs in a game and 12-3 this year … the team has scored at least five runs in eight of the last nine games … Welsh is currently on a team-best six game hitting streak … RU has 27 home runs this season compared to 19 in all of 2016 … the team batting average of .279 ranks fifth in the Big Ten … Marcinczyk is third in the league with 27 walks drawn, while Harris is tied for fifth at 24 ... the Scarlet Knights sit at No. 88 in the latest NCAA RPI and No. 57 in strength of schedule.
SCOUTING COLUMBIA
The Lions enter the week on a six-game winning streak, including taking all four at Princeton most recently. The team put up 21 runs in the series finale. For the season, Randell Kanemanu is No. 28 in the country with a .394 batting average, while also leading the team with six home runs and 33 RBIs. Right-hander Nick O'Brien is projected to make the start on the mound and is coming off a win at Fordham after working three hitless innings.
Head coach Brett Boretti is in his 12th season. Click here for the Columbia midweek preview.
THE SERIES
Rutgers and Columbia attempted to play last year in New York before a rainstorm halted the game in the first inning. The teams have met 25 times since 1990, with the Scarlet Knights having won 18 times. In the last official game in 2015, RU triumphed 7-4 at Bainton Field.
UP NEXT
Rutgers will stay home and host No. 17 Michigan in a three-game series starting Friday. It will be the first trip to Bainton Field for the Wolverines.
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), Facebook (/BaseballRU) and Snapchat (rutgersbaseball).
