PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Following a series win over Ohio State at Bainton Field, Rutgers baseball returns to the road to face Purdue in a three-game set beginning Friday. The Scarlet Knights' starting rotation combined to permit just three earned run over 17.2 innings last time through, while the offense leads the Big Ten with 20 homers in 2021.
"I'm happy with how we've been able to compete so far," head coach
Steve Owens said. "Baseball is a game of adjustments, change and developing. You can't always win one way; you have to be able to win in a lot of different ways. We want to continue to improve upon everything. You never know if you'll need to hit homers, pitch a shutout or maybe make a diving play in the outfield to win a game."
Big Ten Network+ is set to broadcast each of the three contests. A Big Ten Network+ subscription gives access to live streaming produced by the Big Ten Network in partnership with the member schools of the Big Ten Conference. A television provider is not needed to subscribe.
A free radio broadcast for each game this weekend will be available through ScarletKnights.com and the Scarlet Knights App.
The Scarlet Knights took the first two in the three-game set at Bainton Field to clinch their first series victory over Ohio State. The Saturday opener saw
Harry Rutkowski fan 11 with no earned runs permitted in six innings, with the lead changing sides several times in the late innings. Down 5-4 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth,
Victor Valderrama delivered an RBI single up the middle to force extra innings.
Kyle Muller posted a scoreless 10
th and 11
th before
Cameron Love picked up a leadoff double, his first collegiate hit, and advanced on a passed ball in the last of the 11
th. Valderrama then lifted a game-winning sacrifice fly for the 6-5 win.
Ben Wereski retired 20 of the first 24 batters faced in 7.1 shutout innings on Sunday.
Chris Brito homered for the fourth-straight game in the first inning to become the first Scarlet Knight since Jeff Frazier in 2002 to achieve the feat. Brito's two-run shot proved to be enough, as
Dale Stanavich recorded the final five outs with five stranded in the 2-0 shutout. The Buckeyes took the Monday finale, 4-1, despite
Brent Teller not allowing a run until the sixth. RU left the bases loaded in the eighth.
Rutgers hit three homers in the series to up its season total to 20, most in the Big Ten and third in the country at 1.82 per game. The 20 long balls are the most for the team in a season since hitting 37 in 53 games in 2017. In addition, the mark establishes a new program-best within a Big Ten season, topping the 12 struck in 24 games in 2015. The offense is also atop the Big Ten leaderboard with 14 stolen bases, while the pitching staff is first in the league with only 3.22 walks allowed per nine innings.
Hitting: Brito crushed two homers in the last series to raise his season total to eight, most in the Big Ten and only three off the national lead. The number matches Jawuan Harris' total from 2017, as the last Scarlet Knight to reach double figures in a season was Patrick Kivlehan (14) in 2012. Brito, who has been on base in all 11 games, also paces the lineup with a .976 slugging percentage, a .460 on-base percentage, 15 hits, 12 runs scored, 18 RBIs and 41 total bases.
Josh Rodriguez (10) and
Jordan Sweeney (10) are next in hits, while
Danny DiGeorgio has stolen five bases.
Pitching: The Scarlet Knights will stick with the same first three starting pitchers as the prior three weekends in Rutkowski, Wereski and Teller.
Rutkowski's 11 strikeouts last time moved him from 11
th to sixth in the RU record book, ranking third in the conference with 13.24 strikeouts per nine innings this season. The left-hander is set to make his 21
st start to begin a weekend on Friday.
Wereski earned the win in each of his first three starts. The left-hander lowered his WHIP to 0.72 to take over the Big Ten lead, holding opposing hitters to a .159 average against. Teller is up to 193 career strikeouts, 29
th-most among active Division I pitchers.
The bullpen has four different pitchers with at least one save, with
Brian Fitzpatrick owning two. Muller has not permitted a walk or run and just four hits in 6.2 relief innings so far.
Rutgers' first Big Ten series came at Purdue in 2015. The all-time series is split 7-7 and 6-6 in the Big Ten, with the Scarlet Knights winning three of the four series. The Boilermakers won all three games in the last set played at Alexander Field in 2018. In 2019, Rutkowski posted a career-high 12 strikeouts over eight shutout innings in a 2-0 Friday win.
Rutgers hosts Penn State in a three-game series at Bainton Field beginning Friday, April 2.
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