| Rutgers (14-5, 0-0) at Penn State (7-11) |
| Game 1 |
March 25 - 3:00 p.m. |
| Probable Pitching Matchup |
Rutgers - RHP Jared Kollar (3-0, 1.84)
Penn State - RHP Travis Luensmann (0-2, 6.29) |
| Coverage |
BTN+ | Live Stats |
| Game 2 |
March 25 - 5:00 p.m. |
| Probable Pitching Matchup |
Rutgers - TBA
Penn State - RHP Tommy Molsky (0-3, 4.35) |
| Coverage |
BTN+ | Live Stats |
| Game 3 |
March 27 - 1:00 p.m. |
| Probable Pitching Matchup |
Rutgers - RHP Nathan Florence (2-1, 2.25)
Penn State - TBA |
| Coverage |
Big Ten Network | Live Stats |
| Rutgers Links |
Notes | Schedule | Fact Book | Statistics | App |
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The Rutgers baseball team opens up conference play this weekend on the road at Penn State. The Scarlet Knights sit at 14-5 overall after picking up a midweek win at Rider. The Nittany Lions are 7-11 on the season after dropping a midweek game to Youngstown State.
Through nonconference play, Rutgers ranks first among Big Ten teams in batting average (.318), doubles (52), doubles/Game (2.74), fielding percentage (.978), hits (229), OBP (.414), runs/Game (8.4), shutouts (4) and OPS (.906). The team's marks in doubles per game (7th) and shutouts (5th) are both top-10 in the nation.
Both games on Friday will be streamed via BTN+, while Saturday's game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
- Rutgers dropped a tight three-game series at Nebraska Omaha before winning at Rider on Tuesday.
- Jared Kollar pitched a gem on Friday night, throwing 7.2 scoreless innings with 10 Ks, but RU would lose 1-0 on a walkoff single in the ninth inning,
- The Scarlet Knights used three home runs from Evan Sleight, Garrett Callaghan and Tony Santa Maria to pick up a 7-1 win on Saturday.
- Rutgers scored twice in the first inning on a Ryan Lasko RBI double and Nick Cimillo solo home run, but lost 3-2 in 12 innings in the series finale.
- Six RU pitchers combined to allow just one earned run against Rider on Tuesday. Evan Sleight, Tony Santa Maria and Chris Brito all had multiple hits in a 5-2 victory.
- Rutgers' team batting average of .318 is 26 points higher than the next Big Ten team (Michigan State, .292).
- At .414, RU is the only Big Ten team with an OBP aver .400.
- Nick Cimillo has reached base in all 18 games he has started. He is slashing .426/.552/.765 and has 17 walks to just nine strikeouts. His .552 OBP leads the Big Ten and is 8th in the country.
- Evan Sleight (.415) joins Cimillo as the two Scarlet Knights batting over .400 on the season. He has eight multi-hit games, including two 4-hit games.
- Through 19 games, four RU players have double-digit extra-base hits: Nick Cimillo (13), Tony Santa Maria (11), Ryan Lasko (10) and Danny DiGeorgio (10).
- 6-of-10 offensive starters are batting at least .300.
- Defensively, Rutgers has committed the fewest errors in the conference and has the highest fielding percentage at .978
- Nathan Florence leads the starting rotation with an ERA of 1.69. Jared Kollar is coming off a 7-inning complete game and lowered his ERA to 2.45 in the process. He has allowed the fewest walks per nine innings (0.82) in the Big Ten. His 12:1 K/BB ratio is also best in the conference.
- Rutgers last had a season with four shutouts in 2012. The staff has 10 games so far allowing three or less earned runs.
- The team has six games with at least 10 strikeouts this season with a high of 15.
- Dale Stanavich, a member of the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list, leads the Big Ten with four saves, has not allowed an earned run and has struck out 15 batters while not issuing a walk this season
- Ben Gorski has thrown 9.2 scoreless innings of relief with 10 strikeouts and a .176 BAA.
- Rutgers is 34-46 all-time against Penn State and went 2-5 against the Nittany Lions last season.
- The Scarlet Knights host NJIT and Saint Peter's in two midweek games before welcoming Minnesota for their Big Ten home opener.
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