PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball will play its first home series of the season this weekend when it hosts UConn for a three-game set at Bainton Field.
Game one is set for a 4 p.m. first pitch on Friday afternoon, followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Rutgers is coming off a road sweep at Delaware that saw the offense post 56 runs in three games. The Scarlet Knights also swept a pair of home midweek games against Rider (8-2) and Lafayette (18-6)
The Huskies won two-of-three at Cal Baptist last weekend and split a pair of midweeks at Rhode Island (L, 4-1) on Tuesday and at home against Long Island (W, 14-8) on Wednesday.
All three games of the series will be streamed on Big Ten Plus with Steven Cusumano and Eddie Kalegi on the call Friday and Steven Cusumano and Joe Godri on the call Saturday and Sunday.
Fans can also follow along on X (@RutgersBaseball) for live updates. Live stats will be available here.
Series History
Rutgers and UConn are deadlocked at 33-33 in the all-time series. The teams played a three-game set in 2023, with the Huskies winning all three games in Storrs.
Last Time Out
Rutgers is riding a five-game winning streak, started by a three-game sweep at Delaware last weekend.
In his first full weekend after returning from injury, Ty Doucette hit the game-winning grand slam to lead RU to a 15-10 victory in game one.
The Scarlet Knights exploded for 27 runs on 29 hits to secure the series on Saturday, winning 27-13. They scored runs in three different innings and their 29 hits were the most since 31 against Fairleigh Dickinson in 2004.
Doucette hit two more home runs on Sunday and the pitching staff put together a strong day to cruise to a 14-3 victory on Sunday, completing the sweep.
Rutgers cruised in its two home midweek games, beating Rider 8-2 on Tuesday and Lafayette in an 18-6 run-rule victory on Wednesday.
Left Side, Strong Side
The Scarlet Knights boast one of the top left sides of the infield in the entire country. SS Josh Kuroda-Grauer (#11) and 3B Tony Santa Maria (#16) were both ranked among the best at their respective positions by D1Baseball prior to the season.
Through five weeks, the duo has been the engine that powers RU's Big-Ten best offense and have the numbers to back it up. They are both tied for the Big Ten lead with 63 total bases.
Kuroda-Grauer is batting .452 and his 42 hits lead the country. His 12 doubles are best in the conference and third in the country, while his 28 RBIs only trail Santa Maria in the conference.
After missing 2023 with injury, Santa Maria's seven home runs, 29 RBIs and .741 slugging percentage all lead the Big Ten.
Rotation Continuity
After having to replace the entire starting rotation in back-to-back seasons, Rutgers has enjoyed continuity on the mound in 2024.
Justin Sinibaldi, Christian Coppola and Zack Konstantinovsky have started every weekend game this season and are set to do the same for this series.
Sinibaldi has three outings of seven-plus innings and went eight innings against both High Point and Charleston Southern. Coppola was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week in February after a six-innings, nine-strikeout performance at Old Dominion.
Staff Updates
Head Coach Steve Owens announced a number of changes to his staff ahead of the 2024 season. Mike Garza was promoted to hitting coach after serving two years as a volunteer assistant.
With the NCAA increasing the number of full-time assistant coaches from two to three, Owens added Danny Bethea to the staff from St. John's. In his role, Bethea works with the team's catchers, offense and will coach first base.
Jack Arend also joined the staff as the Director of Player Development, where he oversees video and data collection while also running camps and clinics.
Depth Behind the Dish
RU has a number of quality options at the catcher position for 2024. Hugh Pinkney returns after making 48 starts at catcher and designated hitter last season, hitting .267 with 12 extra-base hits and a .716 OPS in his true freshman season. JD Jones joins the catching corps as a transfer from Miami and provides a veteran presence. True freshman Jackson Natili is primed for a big career "On the Banks" and factors in as well.
Infield Experience
Rutgers returns at least a full season of starting experience at every infield spot, with Jordan Sweeney (108), Kuroda-Grauer (105), Cameron Love (63) and Santa Maria (60) combining for 376 starts for RU.
Outfield Options
Trevor Cohen represents the lone returning starter in the RU outfield, having started all 56 games last season and hitting .298 with 26 walks to 22 strikeouts en route to being named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
Rutgers retooled with the addition of RJ Johnson Jr. from the JUCO ranks, who is expected to start in centerfied. Johnson his .343 with six home runs and 36 RBIs, while leading his Gulf Coast State team with 61 hits and 55 runs scored in 2023.
Transfers Pete Ciuffreda (Lafayette) and Pete Durocher (Manhattan) bring a combined seven seasons of experience to the outfield and can play multiple positions.
Bullpen Arms
Ben Gorski returns for his final season after an All-Big Ten season in 2023 where he locked down eight saves and posted a 3.40 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He was named to NCBWA Stopper of the Year watchlist ahead of 2024.
Sam Portnoy pitched to a 3.69 ERA across 31.2 innings in 20 appearances and also earned a spot on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watchlist.
Joey DeChiaro joins the bullpen as a graduate transfer from Old Dominion, where he appeared in 50 games across four seasons for the Monarchs. After a strong summer in the Cape Cod League, DeChiaro was named Preseason All-Conference by Perfect Game.
Jake Marshall was third on the Scarlet Knights in 2023 with 51.0 innings as both a starter and reliever and will factor in the team's plans once again. Marshall struck out 60 batters in 51.0 innings a year ago and has 191 strikeouts in his collegiate career.
Joe Mazza was second to only Gorski with 24 appearances for RU last season and pitch 32.0 innings with a 4.78 ERA out of the bullpen.
The bullpen will also receive a boost from the returns of RHP Gavin Stellpflug and LHP Donovan Zsak – neither of whom pitched last season.
A pair of transfers in Jordan Falco (Adelphi) and Sonny Fauci (St. John's) emerged as relievers who can provide length out of the bullpen as well.
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