PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball takes on Monmouth for the second time this season with a 1 p.m. matchup on Tuesday at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights previously beat the Hawks in West Long Branch, 7-6, on April 17. BTN Plus will provide a full broadcast of the game, while WRSU 88.7-FM has the radio call.
 
This will mark the final non-conference outing of the regular season for Rutgers, sitting at 17-9 overall and 6-3 at home in such games.
 
RU will look to return to the win column after dropping three games at Maryland over the weekend. The team rallied in the ninth inning of the series finale, scoring two runs and loading the bases after two outs before falling, 8-6. Junior Serafino Brito dealt 4.1 innings of relief and struck out a career-high six batters to keep the contest within striking distance. For the set, junior Luke Bowerbank and redshirt freshman Dan DiGeorgio both tallied four hits. DiGeorgio had his hitting streak peak at 14 games, the longest by a rookie since 2010.
 
In addition, DiGeorgio is tied for ninth nationally among freshmen with 17 stolen bases this season. He has 15 hits over his last 10 games, with fifth-year senior Chris Folinusz, who leads the lineup with 18 multiple-hit performances in 2018, owning 13 hits over that span. Junior Jawuan Harris paces the team with 27 walks and 20 stolen bases, sitting five swipes shy of tying the career record of 85. Worth noting, Bowerbank is the toughest hitter in the Big Ten to strikeout at once per 13.3 plate appearances. He also holds a .308 batting average.
 
On the mound, redshirt junior Ryan Wares is set to make his first career start. The right-hander picked up the win over Monmouth in the previous encounter by working two scoreless frames. For his career, he has worked 55 games out of the bullpen with 61 strikeouts in 67.1 innings. Brito leads the staff with 25 appearances this year and has 40 strikeouts in 39.1 innings of work. The team ERA is at 4.87, which is down from 6.11 last year.
 
NOTES
Rutgers has turned 46 double plays after spinning 38 last season … the Scarlet Knights are 19-5 this season when scoring six or more runs in a game and 54-14 since 2016 … the pitchers have held opponents to two or less runs in a game 10 times this year after doing that four times in all of 2017 … the offense is up to 111 RBIs with two outs … RU has 78 stolen bases as a team, ninth-most in a season in program history … a total of 29 players on the roster are from New Jersey.
 
THE OPPONENT
Monmouth is coming off a series victory over Siena to move into a tie for first in the MAAC, having won 7-of-8 overall. Kyle Norman leads the offense with a .322 batting average and a .425 on-base percentage, while Shaine Hughes has connected for seven homers for a .477 slugging percentage. Left-hander Ryan Steckline is set to make his first start of the season, holding a 1.59 ERA and a .180 average against in 12 relief appearances.
 
In the April matchup, the Scarlet Knights used timely inning and shutout relief to win on the road against the Hawks. Folinusz came through with a two-out RBI single in the top of the eighth inning to score DiGeorgio from second in what proved to be the difference in a 7-6 victory. Wares 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.
 
RU leads the all-time series, 29-9.
 
UP NEXT
Rutgers wraps the Big Ten schedule with three games versus No. 11 Minnesota at Bainton Field. The series begins Thursday at 1 p.m.
 
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