PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball is back home this weekend to host a three-game series versus Nebraska at Bainton Field. The Friday opener was moved up to a 2 p.m. start and will be available to watch via a one-camera stream. BTN Plus will produce a full broadcast for the final two matchups, with Lou Brogno and Joe Godri delivering the action. In addition, WRSU 88.7-FM is slated to provide the radio call for each contest.
 
The Scarlet Knights won for the 19^th time on Tuesday at Monmouth to match the total number of victories from last season in 20 fewer games played. In Big Ten competition, RU is looking to bounce back from three losses at Illinois, two by one run, but did previously claim series triumphs over Penn State and Michigan State. The 4-5 league mark puts the team in eighth place with five series remaining, as the top eight qualify for the Big Ten playoffs. Nebraska is currently in 11^th at 3-7.
 

The Scarlet Knights used timely inning and shutout relief to win most recently on the road against Monmouth. Fifth-year senior Chris Folinusz came through with a two-out RBI single in the top of the eighth inning to score redshirt freshman Dan DiGeorgio from second in what proved to be the difference in a 7-6 victory. Redshirt junior Ryan Wares breezed through two perfect innings on a combined 14 pitches for the win, while redshirt sophomore Tommy Genuario struck out two in the ninth for his first collegiate save.
 
The Scarlet Knights, who have been as high as seven games over .500 this year, have shown improvement across the board to be six games better than last season through 33 outings. The offense has 25 more runs, the staff ERA is down to 4.53 from 6.14 and the defense has 25 fewer errors. That has led to six weekend series victories, the most in a season since having that many in 2014.
 
Folinusz, an all-conference pick last year, has 17 hits over the last 11 games to lead the offense over that span, owning 12 multiple-hit games this season. Junior Nick Matera, also listed in the previous all-conference selections, has provided 10 doubles and four home runs for a .483 slugging percentage. Senior Kyle Walker has a team-best .446 on-base percentage and is tied with junior Luke Bowerbank at a team-high .321 batting average. Freshman Mike Nyisztor paces the lineup with 23 RBIs, but is one of six different players with 20 or more knocked in as part of a balanced attack.
 
On the bases, the Scarlet Knights have 27 stolen bases in their last nine games to bring the season mark to 1.24 per game, 24^th nationally. Junior Jawuan Harris. He is eight away from matching Doug Alongi (1991-93) for the school record.
 
Senior John O'Reilly and freshman Harry Rutkowski will once again lead the weekend rotation, holding a combined 0.30 ERA in starts at home. O'Reilly has yet to be charged with an earned run in two starts at Bainton Field this year with a .154 batting average against, while Rutkowski has one against his ledger, which was an inherited runner. Overall, O'Reilly is set to move into second in program history with his 45^th career start on Friday. The right-hander sits seventh in the record books with 266.1 career innings. Rutkowski, picked in the 28^th round by the Cincinnati Reds last summer, leads the pitching staff with 46 strikeouts and 53.1 innings as a rookie. The left-hander has surrendered two earned runs or less in each of his last five appearances to lower his ERA to 3.38. The Sunday starter will be determined later.
 
Out of the bullpen, junior Serafino Brito leads the team with 19 games pitched this season. The right-hander has four saves. Genuario, who transitioned to the staff this season after being an outfielder, has not allowed a run in his last four appearances, which spans six innings.
 
NOTES
Rutgers has turned 29 double plays this season compared to opponents having 17 … RU leads the Big Ten with 11 triples … Harris and DiGeorgio both have 11 RBIs with two outs and the team has 75 altogether … the offense has scored 46 runs in the fifth inning, more than any other frame by 12 … the Scarlet Knights have scored first in 21-of-33 games … the team is 15-4 this season when scoring six or more runs in a game and 50-13 since 2016 … the pitchers have held opponents to two or less runs in a game seven times this year after doing that four times in all of 2017 … the offense has 18 games reaching double-digit hits and eight games with 10 or more runs.
 
THE OPPONENT
Nebraska, who won the Big Ten regular season in 2017, is coming off midweek losses at home versus Kansas State and Omaha. In the Big Ten, the Cornhuskers lost 2-of-3 against Minnesota and Ohio State, while dropping two at Michigan State and splitting a doubleheader with Iowa. Scott Schreiber leads the offense with a .399 batting average to rank No. 23 nationally. He has 11 home runs and 103 total bases. Friday starter Luis Alvarado has 49 strikeouts in 48.1 innings, holding opponents to a .250 average. The team is hitting .260 with a 5.29 ERA.
 
Rutgers has dropped 8-of-9 to Nebraska, with the one victory being a walk-off in the series opener at Bainton Field in 2016. The Cornhuskers won all three last year in Lincoln. The first meeting was a 5-4 game in the 2001 NCAA Regionals.
 
UP NEXT
Rutgers is set for five games next week. That starts with a Tuesday makeup game at Rider before coming back home to host St. Peter's on Wednesday. The next Big Ten series is at Purdue.
 
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