CINCINNATI, Ohio (April 28, 2012) - Rutgers University baseball scored at least once run in each of the first six innings and junior Rob Smorol (Clark, N.J.) pitched seven effective innings to give the Scarlet Knights a convincing 13-1 victory over the University of Cincinnati at Marge Schott Stadium on Saturday. The win gave RU the series victory over UC and its 11th win in the last 14 games.
Junior Charlie Law (Mainland, N.J.) led the 17-hit offensive attack with three hits and a career-high five RBIs, while sophomore Brian O'Grady (Warminster, Pa.) also collected three hits from the leadoff spot in the order on the afternoon. Law and fellow juniors Jeff Melillo (Annandale, N.J.) and Patrick Kivlehan (West Nyack, N.Y.) all homered in the game.
Smorol (6-2) picked up his team-leading sixth victory of the season, and fourth in the BIG EAST, with another strong performance on the mound. The left-hander allowed just one earned run on five hits in his seven innings, while striking out five. He retired 13 of the last 14 hitters he faced.
Already ahead 5-1 in the fifth inning, Melillo (fourth of the year) and Kivlehan (ninth) hit back-to-back homers to left field from the third and fourth positions in the order, respectively, to stretch the RU lead. It was the first time Rutgers (25-17, 10-7 BIG EAST) had achieved consecutive homers this season.
The Scarlet Knights then broke the game open with six runs on five hits in the sixth to put the game out of reach. Sophomore Joe D'Annunzio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) walked to start it off, moving up on a sacrifice bunt by classmate Pat Sweeney (Sparta, N.J.). O'Grady followed with a rocket double to the wall in right field to score D'Annunzio. Next up, sophomore Nick Favatella (Washington Township, N.J.) singled to bring home O'Grady for the second run of the frame. Melillo then added a singled to put two on for Kivlehan, who roped a hit to the opposite field to score Favatella from second. Law proceeded to clear the bases with a three-run double after junior Steve Zavala (Randolph, N.J.) recorded a hit. The double, which went to left-center, capped the outburst and put the Scarlet Knights ahead 13-1.
Zavala additionally had a multiple-hit game with a pair of singles, as 11 different players notched a hit for Rutgers on the day.
RU dented the scoreboard right from the start with single runs in each of the first two innings. O'Grady led off with a single off the pitcher and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Favatella. Then after a wild pitch moved O'Grady to third, Melillo lifted a sacrifice fly to right field for the first run of the game.
In the next inning, the Scarlet Knights put together four hits to add another run, starting with singles from Law and junior Bill Hoermann (Toms River, N.J.) with one out. D'Annunzio next hustled down the line to beat out a potential double play grounder, allowing Sweeney to come to bat and hit a clutch RBI single.
The Bearcats chipped back with a run of their own in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Braden Kline to cut the score to 2-1.
However, Rutgers kept the pressure on with a two-run homer by Law in the third, his second long ball is as many weekends and third of his career. Zavala singled with two outs to bring the designated hitter to the plate, who sent a line drive over the wall in left that left the ballpark in a hurry.
The fifth run came across on a sacrifice fly from Sweeney to score D'Annunzio, who had singled and advanced to third on an error.
Rutgers did not stop there, adding eight more runs over the next two innings to set the final score at 13-1. It was the third time RU had won a game by at least eight over a BIG EAST opponent this season (3/23 at Seton Hall, 4/21 at Connecticut).
Junior Sam Hasty (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and freshman Jon Young (Old Bridge, N.J.) each pitched one scoreless frame to close out the win.
Zach Morris (2-3) suffered the loss for Cincinnati (13-31, 2-15 BIG EAST), who has dropped their last seven games.
The Scarlet Knights will look for their second BIG EAST sweep of the season with senior Ryan Fasano (Stony Point, N.Y.) scheduled to pitch the series finale. First pitch at Marge Schott Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
NOTES
It was the first time this season that RU scored at least one run in each of the first six innings … first game RU has hit three homers in the same contest this season … RU improved to 15-15 on the road … Smorol has four conference wins … 20 different players saw action on the field for the Scarlet Knights … the start of the game was delayed 62 minutes due to rain.
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