April 23, 2015
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Taking a bye from Big Ten play, Rutgers baseball will stay in the Garden State to renew a long-standing rivalry against Seton Hall. The three-game weekend series will be played at Owen T. Carroll Field, Bainton Field and TD Bank Ballpark in that order. Tickets for the series finale at the home of Somerset Patriots can be purchased by calling 1-866-445-GORU (4678) or 732-903-2980.
Before last season's meeting was canceled due to inclement weather, the Scarlet Knights and Pirates had played on the diamond every season consecutively since 1987. In addition, the Friday game in South Orange will be the first contest between the programs since 1972 that neither Fred Hill (Rutgers) nor Mike Sheppard (Seton Hall) will be in the dugout coaching.
| Rutgers (13-26-1, 5-10 Big Ten) vs. Seton Hall (19-15, 5-4 Big East) |
| Game 42 at Seton Hall | April 24 - 4 p.m. ET |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | Rutgers - LHP Mark McCoy (1-6, 6.00 ERA) vs.
Seton Hall - RHP Zach Prendergast (5-3, 2.48 ERA) |
| Coverage | Video ($) | | WRSU |
| Game 43 at Rutgers | April 25 - 1 p.m. ET |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | Rutgers - LHP Howie Brey (1-6, 5.30 ERA) vs.
Seton Hall - RHP Shane McCarthy (4-3, 1.71 ERA) |
| Coverage | |
| Promotions | Rutgers Day | Block R Magnet Giveaway |
| Game 44 at TD Bank Ballpark | April 26 - 3 p.m. ET |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | Rutgers - RHP Gaby Rosa (1-4, 6.17 ERA) vs.
Seton Hall - RHP Zach Schellenger (2-2, 4.50 ERA) |
| Coverage | | WRSU |
| Tickets | 1-866-445-GORU (4678) or 732-903-2980 |
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights played two midweek games, but only completed one. On Tuesday, freshman John O'Reilly (Northvale, N.J.) pitched seven shutout innings against Wagner to earn his fourth win of the season. Six different players provided a hit offensively, with freshman Milo Freeman (Millburn, N.J.) knocking in two runs in a 7-1 triumph. Then on Wednesday versus Saint Peter's, the game was suspended in the top of the sixth after a thunderstorm arrived at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights currently lead 3-0 in a game that will be picked up May 5.
For the season, sophomore Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.) leads Rutgers at .301/.407/.497 to go with five home runs and 24 RBIs. The outfielder has reached base in 32 of the past 33 games played. Senior Vinny Zarrillo (Forked River, N.J.) is the only Scarlet Knight to start all 40 games and has 48 hits on the year. Over the last 10 games, freshman Kyle Walker (Piscataway, N.J.) paces the hitters with a .391 average and eight RBIs. In addition, RU leads the Big Ten and is tied for 33rd nationally with 59 stolen bases on the season, with senior Joe D'Annunzio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) (12) and junior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) (11) both in double-digits.
Rutgers will stay with the same pitching rotation of junior Mark McCoy (Barnegat, N.J.), junior Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.) and sophomore Gaby Rosa (Perth Amboy, N.J.) for the sixth-straight weekend. Sixteen of McCoy's 33 strikeouts this season have been called, ranked tied for eighth in the league. Brey has paced the staff with 54.1 innings in 2015, as the left-hander has logged at least seven innings in four of his past five starts. Working the series finale, Rosa pitched six innings last week versus Michigan State.
In relief, senior Jon Young (Old Bridge, N.J.) leads the staff with 17 appearances, finishing the game 15 times. He is tied for eighth in school history with 10 saves and sports a 2.18 ERA for the year. Click here and here for recent feature stories on the right-hander.
NOTABLE
Rutgers is 12-2 in games when leading after six innings and 9-2 when scoring at least six runs in a game this season ... the offense has collected double-digit hits 13 times ... the defense has played errorless baseball 15 times ... RU has scored more in the fifth inning (31) than any other frame ... Devish leads all qualifying batters with a .390 average with runners on base ... Walker has team-best .474 average with runners in scoring position and has scored a runner from third with less than two outs all seven times ... Zarrillo is the most experienced player on the team with 193 career games and 177 starts ... RU has 59 steals in 40 games this year after posting that number in 55 games in 2014 ... D'Annunzio is tied for eighth in program history with 11 career triples, being tied for first in the Big Ten with five this season ... the Scarlet Knights have hit 13 homers this season in 36 games, having hit 14 all of last season ... Rutgers has played seven games against a ranked opponent ... the team is in its sixth consecutive week taking the field for five games on the schedule ... thirty-two of the 35 players on the roster hail from the state of New Jersey.
SCOUTING SETON HALL
The Pirates are coming off a 2-0 midweek victory over Monmouth at home, having dropped its latest conference series to Butler over the weekend. Kyle Grimm leads the hitters with a .356 average for the season, while Sal Annunziata has blasted five home runs. Friday starter Zach Prendergast was sharp in his last start with no earned runs allowed over seven innings against the Bulldogs. The staff has worked to a 3.44 ERA as a unit.
Head coach Rob Sheppard is in his 11th season at the helm of the program. Click here for the Seton Hall weekend preview.
THE SERIES
Rutgers holds a 44-42-1 advantage in the rivalry in records going back to 1946, but Seton Hall took two-of-three at Bainton Field in the most recent series in 2013. However, the Scarlet Knights took two when the teams last met at Owen T. Carroll Field in 2012 and have won three of the last four weekend series going to 2010.
UP NEXT
Rutgers will make-up its postponed game against Fairleigh Dickinson Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Bainton Field. The next Big Ten series will start May 1 at Penn State.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding baseball, follow the program on Twitter (@BaseballRU), Instagram (@rutgersbaseball) and Tumblr.
