PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After playing a 44-game Big Ten schedule in 2021, Rutgers baseball returns to a full 56-game regular season in 2022. The slate begins with a three-game series at Houston Baptist starting Friday at Husky Field. The Scarlet Knights last played a non-conference game on March 10, 2020, a 5-2 home victory over Monmouth.
All three games this weekend will stream via ESPN+. Live stats will also be available, with links posted at ScarletKnights.com.
- The Scarlet Knights were picked to finish sixth in the projected Big Ten standings forecasted by D1Baseball.com. In 2021, RU made strides across the board in earning its best placement (eighth) and winning percentage (.477) in Big Ten play since joining the conference.
- The Scarlet Knights are led by head coach Steve Owens, who enters his third season in Piscataway and 31st overall as a head coach. In building Rutgers with an emphasis on toughness, commitment and development, Owens is among the top 15 active Division I coaches in wins (941) and winning percentage (.646). He is an 11-time conference coach of the year who has mentored 22 All-Americans and 54 professional players.
- The 2021 season included winning six series, a 7-5 mark against NCAA Regional qualifiers and at least one victory over each team in the league. In addition, the Scarlet Knights led the conference in road wins (13). The campaign was highlighted by a five-game winning streak over ranked Michigan and Nebraska, all on the road. Rutgers was the only team in the Big Ten to win a series over league champion Nebraska. Through 24 games, a standard Big Ten season, RU set Big Ten team season records in wins (12), runs (141), homers (35), total bases (356), slugging percentage (.430), on-base percentage (.353), strikeouts recorded (196), least walks allowed (72), batting average against (.254) and saves (7).
- Rutgers returns 20 letterwinners and welcomes 17 newcomers to the roster.
- INF Chris Brito, OF/INF Mike Nyisztor and LHP Dale Stanavich all represent Rutgers on the Big Ten Preseason Honors List.
- Nyisztor leads the active roster with 153 career games played, 147 starts, 587 at bats, 103 runs, 167 hits, 25 doubles and 32 stolen bases, while Brito is first with 16 career homers, 71 RBIs and 60 walks.
- Rutgers clubbed 48 homers last year, tied for sixth-most in a season in program history and most since 2010. OF Ryan Lasko, a Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American, led the team with 11, the most by an RU freshman since Jeff Frazier (13) in 2002.
- OF Richie Schiekofer hit .390 with a .467 on-base percentage over the last 27 games. He enters 2022 on a six-game hitting streak.
- Brito and Schiekofer both carry active 17-game on-base streaks, while INF Danny DiGeorgio has been on in each of the last 14 games.
- Rutgers scored at least 15 runs in a game three times in 2021, including a team Big Ten record 16 at Minnesota.
- LHP Brian Fitzpatrick is set to make his first start since March 3, 2019, at Old Dominion, having worked 14 games in relief last season coming back from Tommy John surgery. RHP Jared Kollar (222 strikeouts, 3.05 ERA in 168 career innings at Seton Hill) and RHP Nathan Florence (211 strikeouts and 36 starts in 197.2 innings at Hartford) are scheduled to make their debuts as Scarlet Knights.
- RHP Kyle Muller has appeared in 47 games for Rutgers, posting a 1.11 WHIP and .207 batting average against in 2021. RHP Nate McLain had eight outings without allowing an earned run and led the bullpen with 24.2 innings in his first RU season.
- Rutgers pitched three shutouts last year, most since 2016, including first road shutouts in Big Ten play.
- Rutgers picked up 14 saves, tied for third-most in a season in program history, with six different pitchers notching at least one. Stanavich led the way with five saves, including striking out the side on back-to-back days to end the season versus Illinois.
- Rutgers racked up 328 strikeouts on the mound to rank 10th in a season in school history. The staff placed second in the Big Ten with only 3.46 walks allowed per nine innings, with 150 total to rank eighth-least in a season in school history.
The Scarlet Knights have never played Houston Baptist, as the 2022 schedule includes five total first-time opponents (Coastal Carolina, UNC Wilmington, Hawaii, Nebraska Omaha). RU last traveled to the Lone Star State in 2008, winning one game in a three-game set at Texas A&M.
Rutgers returns to the road to take part in the Carolinas Coastline Classic. That begins Friday, Feb. 25 at Coastal Carolina before heading to UNC Wilmington for a Saturday matchup. The weekend concludes back at Coastal Carolina Sunday in a neutral contest versus Middle Tennessee.
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