COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 1, 2022) – The No. 24 Rutgers baseball team scored 8 unanswered runs to erase an 8-3 deficit and defeat Ohio State 11-8, completing a three-game sweep of the Buckeyes. RU hit six home runs on the day (Ryan Lasko x2, Nick Cimillo x2, Danny DiGeorgio and Chris Brito) and improved to 36-9 on the season and 15-3 in Big Ten play.

Lasko's two home runs gave him five big flies in the last two days and he finished the day going 3-for-6 with two home runs, a double, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored, while making a big-time catch in centerfield for the last out of the game. 

"He's a great player and he just had one of thosespecial weekends," head coach Steve Owens said. "Ryan can take over a weekend. He's a really, really good player. The thing that's crazy is his entire skillset of defense, offense and baserunning. He just does everything well. This whole weekend was huge for him."

The Scarlet Knights would need every bit of Lasko's big day, as the Buckeyes jumped out to an early lead with a 4-spot in the bottom of the first. OSU would load the bases twice in the inning and use a pair of 2-run singles to take the early 4-0 lead.

The Scarlet Knights chipped away with a Richie Schiekofer sac fly in the second. In the third inning, Danny DiGeorgio and Nick Cimillo then blasted back-to-back solo home runs to make it a 4-3 game. 

Ohio State's lineup brought its best on Sunday, as the home side hit a pair of home runs in the bottom of the third to take an 8-3 lead. 

Sam Portnoy would enter to start the fourth inning, looking to cool off the Buckeye bats. He did just that, tossing 2.2 scoreless frames, allowing two hits and striking out one. His effort bridged the gap to the back end of the Rutgers bullpen and settled things down while the RU offense went to work. 

"They were swinging the bats really well and we weren't pitching well in the beginning of the game," Owens said. "Sam came in and settled it down for us. He did a good job and allowed us to get back in the game."

In the top of the sixth, the Scarlet Knight lineup exploded for five runs. After Josh Kuroda-Grauer was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a bad pick-off throw, Schiekofer drove him in with a single. Jordan Sweeney then walked to put two men on for Ryan Lasko, who had three home runs in Saturday's game. Lasko promptly sent one over the wall for his fourth home run of the weekend to make the score 8-7.

The next three batters all reached base to load things up for Evan Sleight, who would tie the game on an RBI groundout, where he was controversially called out at first.

Lasko was just getting started, however, as he came up to bat in the top of the seventh in a tie game with two outs. On the first pitch he saw, Lasko hit his second home run of the game and fifth in the last two games to give Rutgers a 9-8 lead. 

The Scarlet Knights kept the pressure on, as Nick Cimillo and Chris Brito launched back-to-back no-doubt home runs in the eighth, Cimillo going over the trees behind the fence in left field and Brito hitting one to the batter's eye in dead center field.

With an 11-8 lead, Matt Rowe got a strikeout and yielded a hit in the bottom of the eighth before making way for Dale Stanavich, who quickly got a strikeout and flyout to end the frame.

Stanavich would then toss a scoreless ninth to finish off his 10th save of the season and second multiple-inning save of the weekend. 

Rutgers now sits at 36-9 overall and 15-3 in Big Ten play. With two more conference series' against Maryland and Michigan left this season, RU remains at the top of the conference standings.
 

Down 8-3 in the fifth. Didn't blink.

Big-time win over the Buckeyes to improve to 36-9, 15-3 in the Big Ten and stay in first place.#TCD /// #GoRU pic.twitter.com/FAca3dEdnB

— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) May 1, 2022

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