Rutgers University
0-1
Miami
1-0
Baseball Falls in Opener at Miami
Feb 15 | Baseball
"Obviously, you don't want start the season that way," head coach Joe Litterio said. "The best thing about baseball is we get another chance tomorrow night to lace them up again and get right back on the field. We will see what we're made of. We didn't work all year to this point to go down after one game. We had a tough start to that game, gave up 12 runs in three innings. That's tough to come back from no matter who you're playing. We get a chance to get after it again tomorrow night and I look forward to seeing what we can do."
Offensively, junior Kevin Welsh reached three times on two walks and an RBI double for RU (0-1), while redshirt junior Kevin Blum also recorded a run-scoring double. Freshmen Chris Brito, who knocked in one, David Soto and Peter Serruto all picked up their first collegiate hits in the ballgame.
Evan McKendry (1-0) earned the win for Miami (1-0) by striking out eight over six innings, allowing two earned runs. The Hurricanes used home runs by Freddy Zamora and Alex Toral as part of a 20-hit attack, scoring one in the first, six in the second and five in the third.
Senior Serafino Brito (0-1) took the loss in a two-inning start. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Muller followed in his first appearance since 2017, logging three innings. Both freshman Brian Fitzpatrick (four strikeouts) and redshirt junior Steven Acosta (no runs against, three strikeouts) made their RU debuts on the mound.
Overall, 10 made their first appearance on the field for Rutgers, including seven true freshmen.
The Scarlet Knights will look to bounce back in game two of the series set for 7 p.m. Saturday. Sophomore Harry Rutkowski will start on the mound for RU.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Evan McKendry (1-0)
L: Brito, Serafino (0-1)
S: Greg Veliz (1)
Batting:
2B: Welsh, Kevin 1 ; Blum, Kevin 1
RBI: Welsh, Kevin 1 ; Brito, Chris 1 ; Blum, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Welsh, Kevin 1 ; Soto, David 1 ; Blum, Kevin 1
SB: Soto, David 1
Batting:
2B: Anthony Vilar 1 ; Freddy Zamora 2 ; Adrian Del Castillo 1 ; Jordan Lala 1 ; Raymond Gil 1
3B: Willy Escala 1
HR: Freddy Zamora 1 ; Alex Toral 1
RBI: Tony Jenkins 1 ; Anthony Vilar 3 ; Freddy Zamora 4 ; Adrian Del Castillo 3 ; Alex Toral 2 ; Chad Crosbie 1 ; Willy Escala 3 ; Raymond Gil 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tony Jenkins 2 ; Anthony Vilar 3 ; Luis Tuero 1 ; Freddy Zamora 2 ; Tyler Paige 1 ; Adrian Del Castillo 2 ; Alex Toral 2 ; Isaac Quinones 1 ; Jordan Lala 2 ; Chet Moore 1 ; Willy Escala 2
SB: Tony Jenkins 2 ; Willy Escala 1
HBP: Chet Moore 1
PO: Chet Moore 1
