Feb. 12, 2015
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers baseball will open its 146th season of competition this weekend against No. 9 Miami, traveling to Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field to take on the Hurricanes in a four-game series. This is the sixth time in the last seven years that the Scarlet Knights will play at Miami to start their campaign, as the season started at FIU in 2014. RU will play its first game representing the Big Ten on Friday.
| Rutgers (0-0) at No. 9 Miami (0-0) |
| Game 1 | Feb. 13 - 7 p.m. ET |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | Rutgers - LHP Howie Brey (6-3, 2.36 ERA) vs.
Miami - LHP Andy Suarez (6-3, 2.95) |
| Coverage | Live Stats | Radio (WVUM) | Video ($) |
* - 2014 statistics listed
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights return 22 players who saw action from a team that went 30-25 and 14-9 in the American (tied for third) last season. Rutgers played its best baseball at the end of the year, winning 11 of its last 14 games, including an eight-game winning streak.
Offensively, senior Vinny Zarrillo (Forked River, N.J.) and sophomore Mike Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) were both named to the Big Ten Players to Watch list. Zarrillo finished 2014 going 8-for-12 with five RBIs in the conference playoffs to earn all-tournament honors, carrying a team-high seven-game hitting streak into the season. The leadoff hitter, Carter earned Freshman All-America status as a rookie and led RU with a .355 average in league games. Rutgers hit .283 as a team last year.
Rutgers returns all of its starting pitching experience, led by junior ace Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.). The left-hander was also named a Big Ten Player to Watch, as he permitted two earned runs or less in eight of his 11 starts in 2014. Junior lefty Mark McCoy (Barnegat, N.J.) will slide in the second spot this weekend after transferring from Wake Forest. Posting a team-high 58 strikeouts in 53.2 innings last year, right-hander Kyle Driscoll (Toms River, N.J.) is slated to start the second game of the Saturday doubleheader. Freshman All-American Gaby Rosa (Perth Amboy, N.J.) will get the ball for the series finale. The right-hander will also see time at second base in the series. Senior right-hander Jon Young (Old Bridge, N.J.) and sophomore left-hander Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) both return to their roles in late relief.
Click here to view the roster with updated bios and individual statistics.
Head coach Joe Litterio starts his second season as the head coach for the Scarlet Knights and fourth on staff. It will be his 14th year overall as a skipper at the collegiate level. Click here to read the full Rutgers season preview.
NOTABLE
The Feb. 13 game will mark the earliest start to a season in Rutgers baseball history … the Miami series is the first of six consecutive weekends on the road to start the season … the Scarlet Knights won their final 13 games at home last season, holding the second-longest active home winning streak in the nation … the pitching staff lost just 28 innings of work … RU started a freshman pitcher 41 times in 2014 and freshmen accounted for 69 percent of innings pitched (331.1) overall … it will be the 33rd consecutive season RU has played in the state of Florida … due to the FieldTurf at Bainton Field, the team has been able to practice outside during the preseason … RU went 28-6 last year when holding the opponent to five runs or less … led by Young's nine, the staff set a program record with 17 saves last season … the offense scored 56 runs in the first inning, most of any frame ... the Scarlet Knights picked up two wins over top-10 teams last season, at No. 7 Louisville and home versus No. 10 Houston.
SCOUTING MIAMI
The Hurricanes are ranked as high as No. 9 in the Baseball America poll. The ACC regular season champions at 24-6, UM went 44-19 overall in 2014 and earned one of 16 NCAA postseason Regional host sites. The program has been in the NCAA tournament a record 42 consecutive seasons.
Miami features a trio of Louisville Slugger Preseason All-Americans: first-team catcher Zack Collins, second-team pitcher Andy Suarez and second-team reliever Bryan Garcia. Suarez will make the Friday start on the mound to open the series. He was the 57th overall pick in the draft last year by the Washington Nationals.
Head coach Jim Morris enters his 22nd season leading the Hurricanes and 38th overall. Click here for more information on Miami baseball.
THE SERIES
Miami leads the all-time series 52-12 dating back to back to 1967, having won the last seven meetings. Rutgers has opened the season at UM six times in the last seven seasons. The two programs used to both be members of the Big East.
UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights will travel south once again to face No. 25 Tennessee in a four-game series starting Feb. 20.
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