Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers baseball scored early and often on the way to topping Saint Joseph's, 11-1, in the series opener Friday Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights came within one out of their second consecutive shutout to win for the fourth time in five games.

RU improved to 13-16 on the season and 7-1 at Bainton Field, as SJU dropped to 13-13. It was the first meeting between the teams since 1995.

The reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, senior Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.) (3-3) delivered another ace performance with seven strikeouts over six shutout innings to collect his 15th career victory. The left-hander surrendered just three hits and registered eight outs in the air. He is now 9-2 in 20 career games at Bainton Field, holding an ERA of 3.30. Following up, senior Reed Shuttle (Lansdale, Pa.) and junior TJ Perkowski (South Brunswick, N.J.) each tossed a scoreless inning of relief, while junior Colin Bohnert (West Caldwell, N.J.) secured the final three outs.



At the plate, Rutgers racked up 14 hits, nine with runners on, to reach double digits for the 10th time this season. Junior Mike Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) notched a game-high three, including a double. Senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.), fifth-year senior Chris Suseck (Flemington, N.J.) and fifth-year senior John Jennings (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) all added a pair of hits to the offensive barrage. In addition, freshman Mike Martinez (West New York, N.J.) and Jennings blasted back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning.

Tim Ponto (1-3) suffered the loss for the Hawks with nine hits and three earned runs permitted in a 2.1-inning start. The visitors picked up seven hits, but grounded into three double plays and left nine on base.

Rutgers scored in the first inning for the seventh time this season to take an early lead. Devish started with a single to right and moved up on a hit to left by Carter. Next up, Suseck smashed an RBI single through the left side to put RU up one.

After Brey struck out the side in the second, the Scarlet Knights tacked on three more. Jennings reached on error and advanced on a one-out walk drawn by junior Gaby Rosa (Perth Amboy, N.J.). Devish then stepped up with an RBI single, with Carter following with a run-scoring hit of his own. Suseck capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.

In the third, Jennings and sophomore Milo Freeman (Millburn, N.J.) both singled with one out. Rosa worked the count in his at bat and slashed a hit to right to score Jennings, also forcing the Hawks to call the bullpen. The lead grew to eight in the fourth on a three-run double by junior Christian Campbell (Sayreville, N.J.) to the right field corner. Campbell has a hit in each of the seven games he has played since returning to the lineup, driving in nine over that span.

Then in the sixth, Suseck laced a leadoff single, but stood put at first until Martinez came up as a two-out pinch hitter and launched his third home run of the season. Immediately after, Jennings also launched one over the fence for his first long ball since the first game of the year. The second baseman scored three times on the day.

The Scarlet Knights would come within one out of a shutout, but Graham Leib reached on an RBI infield single in the ninth to set the final score at 11-1.

RU will look for the series win in the middle game of the set scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Bainton Field. The weekend will wrap up Sunday at 1 p.m. at Smithson Field, home of the Hawks.

NOTES
Rutgers improved to 37-10 all-time versus Saint Joseph's ... the team has now reached double digit runs six times in 2016 and won nine times by five or more ... the last time RU hit consecutive home runs was May 10, 2015 at Illinois when Tom Marcinczyk and Joe D'Annunzio went belly-to-belly ... the Scarlet Knights are now 10-0 when out-hitting an opponent ... the defense played errorless baseball for the fourth time in five games and has made just one miscue over that span ... the gloves also turned a season-high three double plays and have produced 10 over the last seven outings ... Brey has not permitted a stolen base in 141.1 innings dating back to 2014, the longest streak of its kind in the nation (no runner has even attempted this season) ... the three hits Brey allowed tied his career-low total in a start, also happening three other times ... Brey is now sixth in school history with 170 career strikeouts and eighth with 245.1 innings pitched ... the Scarlet Knights have won 13 of their last 15 at Bainton Field dating back to last season ... freshman Kevin Blum (Toms River, N.J.) made his collegiate debut with a pinch hitting appearance in the eighth inning ... the contest lasted two hours, 29 minutes.

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