April 27, 2016 Box Score
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers baseball staged a three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning to come back and beat Villanova, 6-4, Wednesday at Bainton Field. It was the first win for the Scarlet Knights when trailing after six this season.
RU climbed back above the .500 mark at 21-20 with its fifth win in the last six games, also improving to 12-2 at home this year. VU dropped to 15-25.
Down 4-3 entering the last of the eighth, sophomores Milo Freeman (Millburn, N.J.) and Kyle Walker (Piscataway, N.J.) both earned walks on full counts to set the rally in motion. Freshman Nick Matera (Roxbury, N.J.) then lofted a fly ball deep enough to right field to advance Freeman to third. After a pitching change, freshman Carmen Sclafani (Toms River, N.J.) chopped an RBI single through the left side to tie the game. A lineout went down as the second out, but junior Christian Campbell (Sayreville, N.J.) extended the inning by reaching via error. That brought up junior Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.), who shot a ball through the right side to bring home two, giving Rutgers a 6-4 lead.
Redshirt junior Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) entered in the ninth and retired three of the four batters he faced to earn his fifth save of the season. The win went to junior Ryan Fleming (Churchville, Pa.) (3-0) for working a perfect eighth, making it 11 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run to lower his ERA to 0.92. Coming in from the bullpen previously, senior Reed Shuttle (Lansdale, Pa.) pitched 2.1 hitless frames to help the relievers combine for 4.1 innings with no hits or runs permitted. Freshman Dante Scafidi (Washington Township, N.J.) made his fourth start and pitched a career-long 4.2 innings, striking out a high of five.
Offensively, the Scarlet Knights were held to six hits, but did draw nine walks. Marcinczyk and Sclafani each had two hits and two RBIs, with Walker drawing three base on balls. Freshman Mike Martinez (West New York, N.J.) also reached three times with two walks and a single.
Making their first trip to Bainton Field since 2012, the Wildcats jumped on top early with a pair of runs on three hits in the top of the first.
That lead would only hold until the third when RU rallied for three runs. Campbell eyed a leadoff walk and advanced on a single to left-center by Marcinczyk, as Martinez walked to load the bases. A fielder's choice force-out at home followed, but Freeman hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1. Walker next drew ball four to reload the bases, with Matera and Sclafani working walks of their own to push two more across.
In the fifth, Donovan May sliced a two-run double to the left field corner to put VU back in front, 4-3. However, Shuttle and Fleming combined for scoreless relief to allow Rutgers to make a late comeback, which happened in the bottom of the eighth.
Max Beerman (0-1) suffered the loss for the visitors with two runs allowed in the deciding frame, as Villanova utilized seven different pitchers. May led all players in the game with a three-RBI showing.
RU will stay home this weekend to host Nebraska in a three-game Big Ten series at Bainton Field. The set will start Friday at 3 p.m. on BTN Plus.
NOTES
Rutgers has now played 19 games decided by two runs or less this season … the Scarlet Knights have won 17 of their last 20 at Bainton Field dating back to last year … Freeman stole two bases and Marcinczyk added one to bring the team total to 94, tied for season-most in a season in school history … Herrmann is up to nine career saves, which ties for 10th in the program record books … RU improved to 12-5 in April … Marcinczyk has 19 RBIs with two outs … the game lasted two hours, 48 minutes.
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