STORRS, Conn. – Despite being down 6-0 before recording an out and 9-3 after three innings, Rutgers baseball found a way to win on Tuesday night, beating UConn 13-11 at Elliot Ballpark.
The Scarlet Knights (21-24) scored 10 runs in the top of the fourth and got four straight scoreless innings from their bullpen to secure the comeback win over the Huskies (26-18), who entered the game with the nation's longest winning streak at 13 games.
RU got off to a rocky start, falling in a 6-0 hole before recording a single out. A two-run single, two-run double and two-run home run gave the hosts a big cushion to start off the game. Andrew Rondini came in to settle things down and got out of the first.
RJ Johnson Jr. got Rutgers on the board with a two-run double in the top of the second, while Yomar Carreras followed with an RBI single in the frame to cut the lead in half and make it 6-3.
An RBI single and two-run double for the Huskies would make it a six-run game again, bringing the score to 9-3 after three.
The Scarlet Knights responded with their biggest inning of the season, a 10-run fourth to flip the game on its head.
Johnson Jr. started the rally with his second two-run double of the game to make it 9-5. Brennan Hyde then launched a game-tying grand slam for his third home run of the season.
JT Thompson – who led off the frame with a walk – singled in Trevor Cohen to give RU a 10-9 lead. Pablo Santos then hit a deep three-run homer to give his team a 13-9 advantage.
Zach Gleason worked around a leadoff solo home run and got through the fourth with Rutgers holding onto a 13-10 lead.
A sac fly from UConn made it 13-11 in the bottom of the fifth, but Gleason limited the damage to just that.
Gleason did a strong job settling the game down after the early barrage of offense, pitching 2.2 innings of relief and giving up just a pair of runs, earning the victory on the mound.
True freshman Matthew Cruz took the ball for the sixth and had the best outing of his young career. After giving up a leadoff single, Cruz retired six straight with three strikeouts to throw clean sixth and seventh innings.
Quinn Berglin came in for the eighth and pitched a 1-2-3 frame with a strikeout. Berglin remained in for the ninth and after a leadoff walk and single, UConn had the tying run on base and winning run at the plate with no outs. Berglin proceeded to strike out the next two batters and induced a groundout to third base to close out the win and earn the six-out save.
Notes
- The 10-run fourth inning was the most runs in an inning since RU scored 11 in the third inning at St. Joe's last season.
- The Rutgers offense has recorded double-digit hits in seven straight games.
- Brennan Hyde's fourth inning grand slam was the first grand slam since Cameron Love last season at Delaware.
- Hyde's four RBIs were a season high.
Career Highs
Rutgers is back in action this weekend with a three-game series at home against Illinois, with game on set for 6 p.m. Friday night.
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