Sunday, March 28
West Lafayette, Ind.
1:00 PM
Rutgers University
8-6, 8-6
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Purdue
3-11, 3-11
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Photo by: Eric Miller
Baseball Routs Purdue to Win Series
Mar 28 | Baseball
Brito, Sleight and Lasko all with three hits
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Scoring seven runs in the first two innings and adding seven more in the fourth, Rutgers baseball (8-6) ran away from Purdue (3-11) for a 15-4 victory in the rubber game of the series Sunday at Alexander Field. The Scarlet Knights improved to 8-6 for their best start to a Big Ten season since joining the conference.
"They were ready to play," head coach Steve Owens said. "We challenged them to win a weekend on the road and be able to win a game on the last day, which we hadn't done yet this year. Really good hitting in the first five innings of the game by everyone. We rolled the lineup over in the first inning, scored more in the second and put the game away in the fourth."
Rutgers totaled a season-high 16 hits with six doubles and a grand slam by Chris Brito, his ninth homer of the season, and a solo shot from Evan Sleight. The duo collected three hits and three runs apiece, as Ryan Lasko knocked in three runs in becoming the first Scarlet Knight with three doubles in a game since Michael Lang at FIU in 2010. Jordan Sweeney contributed two doubles and joined in with Grant Shulman and Cameron Love to make it five players with multiple runs batted in in the balanced offensive attack.
On the mound, Brent Teller continued the run of strong starting pitching with two runs allowed over seven innings. It marked his longest outing this season and matched his career high done five times previously. Nate McLain did not permit an earned run in the last two frames. The starting rotation combined to work 22.1 innings with only three earned runs allowed in the series.
"Brent was good today," Owens said. "It was tough because he had to sit a lot and warm up twice, but he minimized situations. He pitched ahead in the count and went deep into the game."
Purdue starter Jett Jackson did not get out of the first inning and took the loss. The Scarlet Knights have now won four of the five Big Ten series against the Boilermakers.
"They were ready to play," head coach Steve Owens said. "We challenged them to win a weekend on the road and be able to win a game on the last day, which we hadn't done yet this year. Really good hitting in the first five innings of the game by everyone. We rolled the lineup over in the first inning, scored more in the second and put the game away in the fourth."
Rutgers totaled a season-high 16 hits with six doubles and a grand slam by Chris Brito, his ninth homer of the season, and a solo shot from Evan Sleight. The duo collected three hits and three runs apiece, as Ryan Lasko knocked in three runs in becoming the first Scarlet Knight with three doubles in a game since Michael Lang at FIU in 2010. Jordan Sweeney contributed two doubles and joined in with Grant Shulman and Cameron Love to make it five players with multiple runs batted in in the balanced offensive attack.
On the mound, Brent Teller continued the run of strong starting pitching with two runs allowed over seven innings. It marked his longest outing this season and matched his career high done five times previously. Nate McLain did not permit an earned run in the last two frames. The starting rotation combined to work 22.1 innings with only three earned runs allowed in the series.
"Brent was good today," Owens said. "It was tough because he had to sit a lot and warm up twice, but he minimized situations. He pitched ahead in the count and went deep into the game."
Purdue starter Jett Jackson did not get out of the first inning and took the loss. The Scarlet Knights have now won four of the five Big Ten series against the Boilermakers.
Brent Teller pitched a season-high seven innings & Evan Sleight went 3-for-5 with three runs and a homer in Sunday's road win.#RBaseball #TCD pic.twitter.com/nrGDiKcq4k
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) March 28, 2021
| SCORING |
- Rutgers posted four runs on four hits with 10 batter sent to the plate in the first inning. Josh Rodriguez and Sleight singled to start, with Purdue issuing an intentional walk to Brito after a wild pitch and 3-0 count. A force out at home went as the first out, but a muffed catch at first base prevented a double play. Next, Lasko ripped a two-run double to right-center. Mike Nyisztor was hit by a pitch to reload the bases for Shulman, who worked an RBI walk. With two outs, Love chopped one to third base and beat the throw to allow the fourth run to cross.
- The Scarlet Knights tacked on three more in the second inning. Sleight was hit by a pitch and Brito singled to put runners at the corners with no outs. Sweeney took advantage with a two-run double to left-center. Then with two outs, Shulman laced an RBI double down the right-field line to make it 7-0.
- Purdue scored two runs in the third inning to make it 7-2.
- RU responded with seven in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Sweeney and Lasko both doubled for a run, with Nyisztor, Peter Serruto, Love and Rodriguez all walking in a five-batter span to push two more in. Brito capped the inning with a grand slam to right field that increased the lead to 14-2. It was RU's fourth grand slam this year.
- Sleight homered to right-center in the top of the eighth.
- The Boilermakers posted two unearned runs after two errors in the bottom of the eighth.
| UP NEXT |
"We have some things to work on, but are excited about winning our second weekend in a row and where we are in the standings," Owens said. "Looking forward to being back home to play Penn State next weekend."
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 (@RutgersBaseball), Instagram (@rutgersbaseball) and Facebook (/BaseballRU). For additional updates, please download the Scarlet Knights App via the app store or play store.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Teller, Brent (1-2)
L: JACKSON, Jett (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Sweeney, Jordan 2 ; Lasko, Ryan 3 ; Shulman, Grant 1
HR: Sleight, Evan 1 ; Brito, Chris 1
RBI: Rodriguez, Josh 1 ; Sleight, Evan 1 ; Brito, Chris 4 ; Sweeney, Jordan 2 ; Lasko, Ryan 3 ; Shulman, Grant 2 ; Love, Cameron 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Rodriguez, Josh 1 ; Sleight, Evan 3 ; Brito, Chris 3 ; Sweeney, Jordan 3 ; Lasko, Ryan 2 ; Nyisztor, Mike 1 ; Serruto, Peter 1 ; Love, Cameron 1
HBP: Sleight, Evan 1 ; Nyisztor, Mike 1
PO: Love, Cameron 1
Batting:
2B: SIMINGTON, Miles 1 ; FASCIA, Zac 1
RBI: FASCIA, Zac 1 ; WALKER Jr., Justin 1 ; HUNTER, Skyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: POWERS, Tyler 1 ; SIMINGTON, Miles 2 ; FASCIA, Zac 1
HBP: NISLE, Ben 1
Game Leaders
rf/lf
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
4
cf/rf
AB
6
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
6
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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