ROCK HILL, S.C. – It took 11 innings on a travel day, but Rutgers baseball found a way to win on Sunday afternoon, defeating Winthrop 7-6 in extras to complete the series sweep. The Scarlet Knights (3-0) saw a 6-4 lead erased in the eighth inning but were able to push across a run and keep the Eagles (0-3) off the scoreboard in the final three frames.
RU got started quickly and Tony Santa Maria continued his torrid start to the season, lifting a solo home run in the first inning to give the Scarlet Knights an early 1-0 lead. Rutgers doubled its lead in the second when Pete Ciuffreda beat out a double play with the bases loaded.
In the top of the fourth, RU added on more, with Josh Kuroda-Grauer doubling down the line to score a pair. Later in the frame, Kuroda-Grauer scored on an error to make it 5-0.
Winthrop punched back in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases with one out and scoring on an RBI groundout and a two-run single to make it 5-3. A solo homer in the sixth cut it to 5-4.
In the eighth, RJ Johnson Jr. singled home Pete Durocher to get the run back and make it 6-4. The Eagles were not done, as they tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom half thanks to a sac fly and single.
With the game tied heading into the ninth, the Rutgers bullpen buckled down and posted three straight zeroes. Joey DeChiaro pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts. He started the 10th and got an out before making way for Sonny Fauci. With the winning run on second, Fauci got a groundout and strikeout to end the frame.
Santa Maria lined a base-hit into left field to start off the 11th and took second when the left fielder misplayed it. After Trevor Cohen bunted him to third, Johnny Volpe got the call as a pinch-hitter. With the infield playing in, Volpe hit a ball back up the middle and off the second baseman's glove for a single that brought home Santa Maria and made it 7-6.
RU continued to rely on its bullpen depth and called on Gavin Stellpflug to lock down the save. Making his Rutgers debut after not pitching in 2023, Stellpflug worked around a one-out error and got a strikeout and groundout to earn the save and finish off the sweep.
Zack Konstantinovsky made a strong first impression in his first career start, going 4.0 innings, allowed three runs on five hits, while striking out seven and walking none. Jordan Falco made his Rutgers debut in the eighth, as did Donovan Zsak, who also made his collegiate debut and retired the lone batter he faced in the eighth.
Rutgers returns to action on the road against Old Dominion, with game one set for a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday afternoon in Norfolk.
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