NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Rutgers baseball erased an early 3-0 deficit and scored in the eighth and ninth innings to defeat Charleston Southern by a score of 9-7 and clinch the weekend series on Sunday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (8-2) used nine runs on 15 hits from the lineup and were on the right side of four lead changes in a back-and-forth contest with the Buccaneers (5-6).

After falling behind 3-0 in the first on three unearned runs, RU chipped away with one in the third and took the lead with five in the fourth. 

Jordan Sweeney started the rally with a two-out single to make it 3-2. Cameron Love, RJ Johnson Jr., Tony Santa Maria and Josh Kuroda-Grauer all followed with RBI singles of their own to make it 6-3 in favor of Rutgers. 

CSU continued to put runs on the board, getting back a run in the fifth before tying the game at 6-6 with a two-out, two-run double in the seventh. 

With the score tied at 6-6 in the eighth, Love roped an RBI single into center to give the Scarlet Knights a 7-6 advantage. The Buccaneers did not go away easy, however, and quickly tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with two straight doubles to start the frame. With the go-ahead run on second and no outs, Joey DeChiaro came in and struck out three straight to extinguish the threat and end the inning. 

With one out in the top of the ninth, Hugh Pinkney got another rally started with a double after entering the game as a defensive replacement. With Pinkney in scoring position, Trevor Cohen delivered the biggest hit of the weekend, lining a single up the middle to make it 8-7. With two outs, Pete Durocher singled into center to bring home Cohen for an insurance run to make it 9-7. 

DeChiaro returned for the bottom of the ninth and quickly locked up the win by striking out the side. DeChiaro struck out all six batters he faced and earned the win to improve to 1-0 on the season. 

Rutgers returns to action for the home opener on Tuesday against Wagner at 3 p.m. at Bainton Field. 

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