PISCATAWAY, N.J. (April 23, 2022) – The No. 8 Rutgers baseball team bounced back and used a complete team effort to beat Iowa 10-4 on Sunday afternoon in the series finale and wrap up the weekend on a high note. The Scarlet Knight offense scored runs in each of the first four innings, the pitchers struck out 11 batters and the defense played errorless ball to help the team improve to 32-9 overall and 12-3 and a solo first place in the Big Ten. 

"We got hits through the lineup today," head coach Steve Owens said. "Danny DiGeorgio had a special day and Josh Kuroda-Grauer was awesome today. Andy Axelson and Cameron Love gave us a spark. We played errorless defense and we were able to score in multiple innings with a really good offensive approach. We ran into a tough week with a lot of issues and we're through it. We're in first place and we're looking forward to next week."

For the third straight day, Iowa got on the board first, this time with a two-out rally in the first that pushed across a run on an RBI single.  

Rutgers responded right away, posting 3 runs in the bottom of the first. Ryan Lasko got things started with a leadoff double and would later score on a Danny DiGeorgio RBI single.  Josh Kuroda-Grauer then lifted a deep fly ball to left field that one hopped the wall for a double, scoring DiGeorgio. Tony Santa Maria then brought home Chris Brito (walk) with an RBI groundout to give RU a 3-1 lead.

The Scarlet Knights would go on to score in each of the first four innings of the game, including a 2-RBI double by DiGeorgio in the second and an Andy Axelson RBI double in the third. 

Rutgers broke things open in the fourth with a two-out rally. With runners on the corners, Chris Brito broke for second. When the catcher threw down, DiGeorgio broke from third base and stole home. Kuroda-Grauer then single through the right side to score Brito and Tony Santa Maria would follow with an RBI triple to make it 9-3. 

Justin Sinibaldi got the start on the mound for RU and allowed 3 runs on five hits in 3+ innings, while striking out four Hawkeyes. Sam Bello relieved him in the fourth inning and gave the Scarlet Knights a huge boost. Bello bridged the gap for Rutgers, throwing 4.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. He punctuated his outing with a looking strikeout to end the seventh.

"Sam Bello was awesome today. He gave us length and was really good, especially with his slider," Owens said. "He pitched with conviction."

Garrett French tossed a 1-2-3 eighth and Dale Stanavich saw his first action in over a week to get the final three outs in the ninth.

Offensively, Danny DiGeorgio led the charge with a monster game, going 4-for-5 with both 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. Josh Kuroda-Grauer went 2-for-5 with 2 RBI and a run scored, while Cameron Love made his first start of the season and went 2-for-3 with a run. Andy Axelson returned to the lineup and reached base three times, registering an RBI double and being hit by a pitch twice. 

Up next, Rutgers will host Hofstra on Tuesday in midweek action before hitting the road to take on Ohio State over the 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.