PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Down, 5-1, the Rutgers baseball team started an eighth-inning rally, scoring a run and putting the tying run in scoring position with one out, but could not get another run across as Georgetown escaped with a 5-2 victory Friday afternoon at Bainton Field in Piscataway.
The loss snaps an 11-game winning streak for the Scarlet Knights (21-31, 7-19 BIG EAST) over the Hoyas (17-33, 8-17 BIG EAST), dating back to the 2005 season. It also marked Georgetown’s first victory in Piscataway as a member of the BIG EAST Conference.
RU got solid relief from Dennis Hill (Hillsdale, N.J.), who did not give up a hit and struck out five in 4.1 scoreless innings of work, but could not climb back from the early deficit.
A Sean Baumann two-out double to deep center field scored a pair of runs to put Georgetown up 2-0 in the first inning.
Rutgers got one of those runs back in the second as a Jarred Jimenez (Monroe, N.J.) double down the right-field line was followed two batters later by a Luis Feliz (New Brunswick, N.J.) RBI single to left field to make it 2-1.
Georgetown pushed the lead back to two runs, however, in the top of the third with a Chip Malt RBI double to the gap in left-center field to make it 3-1.
RU threatened in the bottom half of the frame putting a runner on third with two outs but Georgetown starter Tim Adleman got out of the jam with a groundout.
The Hoyas added single runs in the fourth and fifth to surge out to a 5-1 lead as Rutgers starter Casey Gaynor (Toms River, N.J.) was relieved by Hill with two outs in the fifth.
Adleman, meanwhile retired 11 straight after giving up a one-out single in the fourth to take the four-run lead into the eighth inning.
The Scarlet Knights got to the Hoya hurler in the eighth as RU put a pair of runners on with no outs courtesy of a Brandon Boykin (Teaneck, N.J.) four-pitch walk and a Michael Lang (Dumont, N.J.) single. Following a strikeout, Dan Betteridge (Sewell, N.J.) delivered a ball over the shortstop’s head for an RBI single to plate Boykin. The left-fielder bobbled the ball, allowing Lang and Betteridge to advance another base and put the tying run in scoring position with one out. Adleman prevented any further damage in the inning, however, with a strikeout and a pop out to take a 5-2 lead into the ninth where reliever Jared Cohen came in to pick up the save with a scoreless ninth.
Despite recording five strikeouts, Gaynor (2-9) took the loss after yielding five runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings. Adleman (4-8) earned the win with six strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed on seven hits in eight innings, while Cohen picked up his second save of the season in the ninth.
Rutgers will close its season Saturday with a noon game against Georgetown at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights will honor their six-member senior class in a ceremony prior the contest.
