OMAHA. Neb. – Rutgers baseball fell to No. 3 seed Iowa by a score of 4-3 in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night at Charles Schwab Field.
 
The Scarlet Knights (29-28) rallied in the ninth and put the tying run on third base, but the Hawkeyes (33-20-1) were able to hold on for the victory.
 
Iowa got off to a quick start, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first. An RBI single up the middle, RBI groundout and bunt single each plated a run to give the Hawkeyes the early 3-0 advantage.
 
Working with an early lead, Iowa starter Cade Obermueller put forth a strong effort against the Rutgers bats. He pitched seven shutout innings to keep RU off the board and get the game into the late innings.
 
Iowa added an insurance run in the fourth on an infield single, taking a 4-0 lead.
 
After coming on in the second, true freshman Luke Fithian pitched 2.2 innings of relief, giving up a run on three hits and striking out two.
 
Quinn Berglin came in and got the last out of the fourth and would put forth one of his best games in a Rutgers uniform. He would go on to finish the game on the mound with 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Berglin's stellar effort gave RU a chance to mount a comeback late in the game. 

After loading the bases in the eighth, Yomar Carreras got the first run on the board with a bases-loaded sac fly. 

Trailing 4-1 in the top of the ninth, Jack Sweeney started a rally with a leadoff walk. RJ Johnson Jr. then singled and Sweeney advanced to third after a flyout for the second out. Johnson Jr. took second on defensive indifference and Ty Doucette drove them both in with a single through the left side. After not starting due to injury, Peyton Bonds came in to pinch run for Doucette. Trevor Cohen singled for his third hit of the night, putting runners on the corners with two outs. With the tying run 90 feet away, a strikeout would end the game and give the Hawkeyes the victory.

With the loss, Rutgers was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament and the Scarlet Knights saw their season come to an end. 

Rutgers ends the season with a 29-28 record, its fourth straight winning season under head coach Steve Owens dating back to 2022. Prior to that, the program's last winning campaign was in 2014. 

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