BETHESDA, MD - The Rutgers University baseball team used
some late-game, opportunistic scoring to sweep a BIG EAST doubleheader from
Georgetown today at Shirley Povich Field. In the opener, Rutgers plated six
runs in the final inning, highlighted by a three-run double from Matt Wolski
(Hamilton, NJ) and a two-run blast by Steve Normane (Pt. Pleasant, NJ) to break
a 1-1 tie and win, 7-3, while in the second game, RU scored seven eighth-inning
runs to erase a 5-2 deficit on its way to a 12-7 win. With the sweep, Rutgers
is now 10-12 overall and 4-2 in BIG EAST action.
The opening game started as a pitchers’ duel, although Rutgers wasted
a great opportunity to score in the first inning. With one out, Jeff Grose (Iselin,
NJ) reached on a walk and moved to second when Jeff Frazier (Toms River, NJ)
singled to short. Vinny Esposito (Middletown, NJ) then drove a fly ball to right
field, which was misplayed by Billy Quinn. Grose, however, was thrown out at
the plate and Frazier was nailed at third on the same play to end the inning
and allow the Hoyas to escape unscathed.
RU starter Jack Egbert (Rutherford, NJ) allowed one base runner in each of
the first five innings, but maintained his shutout into the sixth, while Frazier
hit a solo home run in the fourth to give the Scarlet Knights a 1-0 lead. The
Hoyas tied it at 1-1 in the sixth on an RBI single from Andrew Cleary, but Rutgers
exploded for six runs in the decisive seventh inning.
Alberto Vasquez (Jersey City, NJ) reached on an error to start the inning and
moved to second on a sacrifice. Following a fly out, which advanced Vasquez
to third, Rutgers scored all of its runs with two outs. Grose doubled to left,
plating Vasquez with the go-ahead run and, following an intentional walk to
Frazier and an unintentional walk to Esposito which loaded the bases, Wolski
cleared them with a three-run double and scored when Normane homered to left.
GU reached Egbert for two meaningless runs in the seventh before Sean Atchison
(Florham Park, NJ) shut the door.
In the second game, the Hoyas scored twice in the first on back-to-back RBI
doubles and added another in the third and two more in the fourth, on a two-run
home run by Cleary, to take a 5-1 lead and chase RU starter Tom Malafronte (Somerville,
NJ) from the game. Rutgers scored its lone run to that point on an RBI groundout
by Frazier.
Sophomore Erik Dial (Basking Ridge, NJ) relieved Malafronte pitched 4.1 brilliant
shutout innings before Cleary hit his second home run of the game to extend
the lead to 7-3 and chase Dial. Rutgers used a pair of infield errors, a sacrifice
fly by Grose and another RBI groundout from Frazier to score twice in the fifth
inning, but things looked bleak for the Scarlet Knights, who struggled against
GU starter Kevin Field. Field, who no-hit Rutgers in a seven-inning game last
spring only to lose 1-0 against Bobby Brownlie, allowed just one hit through
five innings before his bullpen doomed the outing.
Trailing 7-3 in the eighth, Field walked the Vasquez to open the inning, signaling
the end of his day. GU reliever Kevin Lundquist then walked two of the next
three hitters, balked home a run, allowed another to score on a wild pitch and
gave up an infield single off his glove to Frazier, allowing RU to pull within
one, 7-6. He then issued yet another walk, his third in five hitters, which
ended his outing after just 1/3 of an inning. Eduardo Pena entered the game
and threw a wild pitch, allowing Frazier to score and tie the game, 7-7. He
then induced a groundout from Cory Rodriguez (Bridgewater, NJ) for the second
out of the inning, but Normane singled home a run to give Rutgers an 8-7 lead,
Johnny Defendis (Staten Island, NY) tripled in Normane with an insurance run
and Vasquez singled to left, plating Defendis for a 10-7 lead. When the dust
settled, Rutgers had sent 11 men to the plate, scored seven runs on just four
hits, received four walks and took a 10-7 lead.
While Rutgers was mounting its comeback, freshman lefty Matt Pustay (Hamilton,
NJ) was near-flawless out of the bullpen. He recorded the final out of the seventh
inning, following Cleary’s home run, and then allowed just one walk over
the final two innings, striking out two, to record his first collegiate victory.
For good measure, Rutgers tacked on two more runs in the ninth as Graig Badger
(Union, NJ) led off with a double to left, moved to third on a sacrifice, and
scored on a single from Esposito. Rodriguez then plated Frazier, who had walked,
with a sacrifice fly to round out the scoring.
Egbert (3-3) earned the win in game one, allowing three runs in six-plus innings.
He allowed eight hits and one walk, striking out four. Pustay (1-0) pitched
hitless ball for 2.1 innings, allowing one walk and two strikeouts. Frazier
(2-for-3) and Normane (1-for-3) homered in the opener, while Grose delivered
two hits, including a double, and Wolski drove in three runs with a double.
In the second game, Rodriguez and Vasquez led the way with two hits apiece,
while Frazier was 1-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. He finished the
day 4-for-6 with four runs scored and four RBI.
Rutgers plays at Princeton on Tuesday (3:00 p.m.) and at Rider on Wednesday
(3:30 p.m.) before opening its home schedule with three games vs. Seton Hall
over the weekend.
** 2003 RUTGERS BASEBALL **
RU at Georgetown Univ. (Game 1)
Apr 06, 2003 at BETHESDA, Md. (Shirley Povich Field)
RU 7 (9-12,3-2) Georgetown Univ. 3 (6-19,1-11)
Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
BADGER, Graig 2b........... 4 0 1 0 CANO ss.................... 4 0 2 0
GROSE, Jeff lf............. 3 1 2 1 CARULLO 2b................. 3 0 0 0
FRAZIER, Jeff rf........... 3 2 2 1 LOMBARDI c................. 4 1 2 0
ESPOSITO, Vinny 3b......... 2 1 0 0 CLEARY lf.................. 3 0 1 1
WOLSKI, Matt dh............ 3 1 1 3 O'HARE dh.................. 1 0 0 0
NORMANE, Steve 1b.......... 3 1 1 2 QUINN rf................... 3 1 1 0
DEFENDIS, Johnny cf........ 4 0 0 0 GRONSKI 3b................. 3 1 2 0
VASQUEZ, Alberto c......... 3 0 0 0 SUPPLE 1b.................. 3 0 1 1
MOSKOWITZ, Lee c.......... 0 1 0 0 JONES cf................... 3 0 0 0
BIONDE, Mike ss............ 2 0 0 0 SIZEMORE p................. 0 0 0 0
EGBERT, Jack p............. 0 0 0 0 HALLORAN p................ 0 0 0 0
ATCHISON, Sean p.......... 0 0 0 0
Totals..................... 27 7 7 7 Totals..................... 27 3 9 2
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
RU.................. 000 100 6 - 7 7 0
Georgetown Univ..... 000 001 2 - 3 9 3
-----------------------------------------
E - CANO(13); CARULLO(3); QUINN(4). DP - RU 1. LOB - RU 6; Hoyas 6. 2B - GROSE(1);
WOLSKI(3); LOMBARDI(11). HR - FRAZIER(2); NORMANE(3). HBP - O'HARE. SH - BIONDE(5).
CS - BADGER(2); CANO(4).
RU IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EGBERT, Jack W,3-3........ 6.0 8 3 3 1 4 1 0 1 0 24 26 5 7
ATCHISON, Sean ............ 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 1
Georgetown Univ. IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIZEMORE L,3-3............ 6.2 5 4 3 5 2 1 0 0 1 24 30 8 7
HALLORAN .................. 0.1 2 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 1 0
WP - EGBERT(2); SIZEMORE(3). HB - EGBERT. PB - MOSKOWITZ(3).
Strikeouts - ESPOSITO; WOLSKI; CANO; LOMBARDI; CLEARY 2; JONES. Walks - GROSE;
FRAZIER; ESPOSITO 2; WOLSKI; NORMANE; CARULLO; O'HARE.
Umpires -
Start: 10:00am Time: 2:00 Attendance: 128
Game: 4X6X031
EGBERT faced 3 batters in the 7th.
** 2003 RUTGERS BASEBALL **
RU at Georgetown Univ. (Game 2)
Apr 06, 2003 at BETHESDA, Md. (Shirley Povich Field)
RU 12 (10-12,4-2) Georgetown Univ. 7 (6-20,1-12)
Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
BADGER, Graig 2b........... 5 2 1 0 GRONSKI 3b................. 5 0 0 0
GROSE, Jeff lf............. 3 1 0 1 CARULLO 2b................. 4 1 0 0
FRAZIER, Jeff rf........... 3 2 1 3 LOMBARDI c................. 5 3 3 1
ESPOSITO, Vinny 3b......... 3 1 1 1 CLEARY lf.................. 3 2 3 4
RODRIGUEZ, Cory dh......... 5 0 2 1 O'HARE dh.................. 3 0 0 0
NORMANE, Steve 1b.......... 6 1 1 1 CRAFT dh.................. 1 0 0 0
DEFENDIS, Johnny cf........ 5 1 1 1 QUINN rf................... 4 0 1 0
CERULO, Nick cf........... 0 0 0 0 CANO ss.................... 3 1 2 0
VASQUEZ, Alberto c......... 3 2 2 1 SUPPLE 1b.................. 3 0 0 0
BIONDE, Mike ss............ 2 1 1 0 JONES cf................... 4 0 1 1
WOLSKI, Matt ss........... 1 1 0 0 FIELD p.................... 0 0 0 0
GROVER, Jason ss.......... 0 0 0 0 LUNDQUIST p............... 0 0 0 0
MALAFRONTE, Tom p.......... 0 0 0 0 PENA p.................... 0 0 0 0
DIAL, Erik p.............. 0 0 0 0 GALVIN p.................. 0 0 0 0
PUSTAY, Matt p............ 0 0 0 0
Totals..................... 36 12 10 9 Totals..................... 35 7 10 6
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
RU.................. 001 020 072 - 12 10 0
Georgetown Univ..... 212 000 200 - 7 10 3
-------------------------------------------
E - GRONSKI(9); CANO 2(15). DP - Hoyas 1. LOB - RU 12; Hoyas 5. 2B - BADGER(5);
LOMBARDI(12); CLEARY(2); QUINN(5); JONES(3). 3B - DEFENDIS(2). HR - CLEARY 2(7). HBP
- BIONDE. SH - GROSE(1); SUPPLE(1). SF - GROSE(1); RODRIGUEZ(1).
RU IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MALAFRONTE, Tom ........... 2.1 7 5 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 13 15 2 4
DIAL, Erik ................ 4.1 3 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 15 16 5 5
PUSTAY, Matt W,1-0........ 2.1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 7 8 2 3
Georgetown Univ. IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIELD ..................... 7.0 4 4 2 7 4 0 0 1 0 26 35 4 12
LUNDQUIST L,1-1........... 0.1 1 4 4 3 0 2 1 0 0 2 5 0 1
PENA ...................... 0.1 3 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 4 0 1
GALVIN .................... 1.1 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 3 1
WP - LUNDQUIST 2(3); PENA 2(12). HB - FIELD. BK - LUNDQUIST(2). PB - VASQUEZ(4).
Strikeouts - BADGER; GROSE; RODRIGUEZ; DEFENDIS; GRONSKI; CARULLO 2; O'HARE; JONES.
Walks - BADGER; GROSE; FRAZIER 3; ESPOSITO 3; VASQUEZ 2; WOLSKI; CARULLO; CLEARY;
CANO.
Umpires -
Start: 12:25pm Time: 2:50 Attendance: 135
Game: 4X6X032
FIELD faced 1 batter in the 8th.
