PISCATAWAY, N.J (March 10, 2010) –The Rutgers baseball team collected 12 hits, including a two-run home run from junior Brandon Boykin (Teaneck, N.J.), and senior Kyle Bradley (Howell, N.J.) struck out five in five innings as the Scarlet Knights (2-8) downed NJIT (2-5), 10-1, Wednesday afternoon at Bainton Field in a seven-inning contest shortened due to darkness.
Sophomore Russ Hopkins (Piscataway, N.J.) set the state for RU’s first score of the day with a one-out double to the gap in right-center field in the second and the Scarlet Knight used some heads up base running to advance to third on an mishandled relay throw. Senior Dan Betteridge (Sewell, N.J.) delivered a ball to right field to get him home on the sacrifice fly on the next play.
NJIT recorded its only hits of the game to lead off the third, with consecutive singles from 1-2 hitters Matt Petrone and Teddy Bickert, and got its lone run of the contest across in the frame on a double play ball one play later.
With runners on second and third and one out in the third, junior Jaren Matthews (Teaneck, N.J.) got a run home on a groundout and senior Jayson Hernandez (Belmar, N.J.) took a 2-1 offering back up the middle to plate another run and build RU’s lead to 3-1.
The Scarlet Knights added three more runs in the fourth, highlighted by a two-run, opposite field home run from Boykin, as NJIT starter Austin McAuliffe was chased out of the game in the frame.
Bradley, who retired eight of the final 10 batters, punctuated his strong outing with a pair of strikeouts in the fifth against the last two batters he faced in the contest. He handed the ball over to freshman Jerry Elsing (Montville, N.J.), who pitched scoreless sixth and seven frames to seal the win.
RU strung together a pair of hits to lead off the sixth and capitalized on a pair of wild pitches to eventually plate three runs in the frame and the Scarlet Knights added a run in the seventh and final inning before darkness set in.
Bradley (1-0) earned the win in his season debut with five strikeouts and just one run allowed on two hits in his five innings of work. McAuliffe (1-1) suffered the loss with four earned runs allowed on eight hits in 3.2 innings.
Hernandez and Boykin, along with juniors Michael Lang (Dumont, N.J.) and Pat Biserta (Pt. Pleasant, N.J.) led the balanced 12-hit attack with two hits apiece.
Rutgers returns to the state of Florida for the third time this season as the Scarlet Knights open their spring break trip with a three-game series in Miami, Fla. at Florida International. The series will begin with a 7 p.m. game on Friday.
