PISCATAWAY, N.J. - With temperatures expected to near record highs in New Jersey, Rutgers baseball returns to Bainton Field to host Iona Wednesday at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live at 88.7-FM and online via WRSU with Dominick Savino and Julianne Roca on the call. The forecast for game time is listed at 77 degrees by weather.com.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights split four games last week, starting with a convincing 11-3 victory over Lafayette last Wednesday at Bainton Field. It was the earliest home game in program history, as Rutgers had 10 different players record a hit to go along with six effective innings on the mound by freshman Serafino Brito (Oakland, N.J.). Then over the weekend, the team dropped both ends of a tightly-contested Saturday doubleheader at Old Dominion before prevailing, 5-2, in the Sunday finale. Sophomore John O'Reilly (Northvale, N.J.) kept RU in the game with six efficient frames and freshman Nick Matera (Roxbury, N.J.) broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth with a clutch two-out RBI single. Brito logged two scoreless innings of relief for his second win of the week, while senior Reed Shuttle (Lansdale, Pa.) collected his second save of the season.

For the week, fifth-year senior Chris Suseck (Flemington, N.J.) led the attack with seven hits and five RBIs to bring his season average up to .359. In addition, senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) continued his hot start with six hits, six runs and three steals over the four games and holds a .610 on-base percentage for the season, which leads the Big Ten and ranks 12th nationally. The catcher is tied for first in the league with nine walks, tied for second with 11 runs, third with a .429 average, tied for third with five stolen bases and 10th with a .571 slugging percentage. Freshman Jawuan Harris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) is first in the conference and 22nd nationally with seven steals in eight tries.

On the mound, the Scarlet Knights have pitched to a 3.75 ERA through 10 games, down 5.47 runs from the same point last season. Freshman Dante Scafidi (Washington Township, N.J.) is scheduled to make his first collegiate start Wednesday. The left-hander has pitched four games out of the bullpen so far this season with two earned runs allowed over 6.1 innings (2.84 ERA), adding six strikeouts. He earned his first career win in the series finale at George Mason.

NOTABLE
Rutgers is 122-67-1 at Bainton Field since it opened in 2007, winning at least half of the contests the last six seasons ... Devish has batted leadoff seven times as the starting catcher, the only RU catcher this century to hit first in the lineup ... he is hitting 4-for-7 (.571) with runners in scoring position this season ... Rutgers leads the Big Ten with 10 sacrifice bunts and is second with 17 stolen bases.

SCOUTING IONA
A member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the Gaels have opened up with one win in their first eight games this season. That was a 7-3 victory at North Carolina A&T Sunday. The team took a 5-2 loss Tuesday at home versus St. John's. Matt Byrne leads the offense with 11 hits for a .367 average, while Travis Mistretta has eight RBIs. As a group, Iona is hitting .228 with a 4.92 ERA. Left-hander Andrew Pucillo is slated to make the start on the mound, having allowed five earned runs over 4.2 innings so far this season.

Pat Carey is in his 11th season as head coach, as the team went 20-33 (11-13 MAAC) last year. Click here for more information on Iona baseball.

THE SERIES
Iona will be making its sixth trip to Bainton Field since 2012, with Rutgers leading the all-time series, 26-5. The matchup dates back to 1978 and the Scarlet Knights have won 23 of the last 25 meetings. Last season, RU earned a 12-3 home victory behind seven runs in the first three innings, as eight of the nine starters recorded a hit. O'Reilly picked up his first career win with six strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Click here for the recap and here for the box score.

UP NEXT
Rutgers will embark on its annual spring break trip, starting Friday at No. 16 Florida Atlantic. The team will also make stops at Florida Gulf Coast and Navy to play seven games overall.

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