PISCATAWAY, N.J. –
Brent Teller worked 5.1 effective innings on the mound for Rutgers baseball (6-5), but Ohio State (6-5) scored three in the sixth and held on to take a 4-1 victory Monday at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights had previously defeated the Buckeyes Saturday (6-5) and Sunday (2-0).
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"We squandered a great opportunity," head coach
Steve Owens said. "Brent gave us a great start, really pleased with the progress he made. They got an inning going with a jam-shot and a squibber, and wound up getting three runs on three hits in the sixth. We had a chance to score more in the first, they pitched out of it. We had two other opportunities with bases loaded and one out, and were unable to score a run. That was 100 percent the difference in the game today."
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Teller permitted just three hits and a walk in his longest start as a Scarlet Knight. The right-hander struck out five.
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Offensively,
Ryan Lasko had two hits with an RBI single in the first, while
Peter Serruto added two singles.
Chris Brito drew three walks and scored a run. The Scarlet Knights stranded 12 runners on base.
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Patrick Murphy earned the win for the Buckeyes by leaving the bases loaded in the fifth among his 2.2 scoreless innings. In the eighth, Bayden Root escaped a bases-loaded, one-out situation with back-to-back strikeouts. TJ Brock picked up the save.
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- Rutgers scored in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Evan Sleight singled with one out and Brito walked to put two aboard. Following a force out at third base, Lasko connected for an RBI single up the middle.
- Ohio State took the lead with three runs in the sixth. Zach Dezenzo hit an RBI double with one out and Kade Kern connected for a two-out, two-run single.
- Dezenzo crossed on an RBI fielder's choice by Mitchell Okuley in the eighth to make it 4-1.
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The Scarlet Knights travel to Purdue for a three-game series at Alexander Field. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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"We're competing at a high level," Owens said. "We have to get our guys back healthy with a short week to get ready to face Purdue."
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