PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Continuing a stretch of 15 games in 20 days, Rutgers baseball will play two midweek games before hosting Nebraska this weekend. The Scarlet Knights will start the week with a Tuesday road game at Columbia and then return to Bainton Field to play Villanova Wednesday. Both contests will start at 3:30 p.m.

BTN Plus and WRSU 88.7-FM will have live coverage of Wednesday's matchup against the Wildcats. Click here for general parking information at Bainton Field.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
Playing to an 11-5 record in April, the Scarlet Knights picked up four wins last week, including a Big Ten series victory over Penn State. RU won its midweek games over Delaware State (12-8) and Wagner (8-0) before taking the first two versus the Nittany Lions (5-0, 6-4) for a season-best four-game winning streak. The team had a streak of 25 consecutive innings without allowing a run from Tuesday to Saturday.

RU is No. 68 in the latest NCAA RPI calculations with the 27th-toughest schedule nationally. That is fourth and third among Big Ten teams, respectively.

Junior Mike Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) led Rutgers with nine hits last week, while senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) reached base a .652 clip during action. Helping those two combine for 19 runs scored, junior Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.) had nine RBIs in five games. Senior Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.) set the tone on the mound with a five-hit shutout in the Friday win over PSU, now having worked a complete game in his last three Big Ten starts.

Devish continues to lead the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally with a .534 on-base percentage, while also leading the conference with 44 runs scored, second with 21 stolen bases, second with 11 times being hit by pitch, fourth with 33 walks and fifth with a .383 batting average. Carter is first on the team with a .410 batting average in 22 games played, while Marcinczyk has 17 extra-base hits and sits tied for fourth in the conference with 35 RBIs.

Rutgers is third in the nation with 91 stolen bases as a team this year, 30 more than any other Big Ten squad. The team mark is third in a season in school history, with freshman Jawuan Harris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) pacing the conference and fourth in the country with 30 swipes. That number is third-most in a year in program history. Devish is second in the league with 21, a number that is 21st in the nation and leads all catchers. Marcinczyk is also in double digits at 12 thefts.

Redshirt junior Kevin Baxter (Waterford, N.J.) is set to make his first start of the season and 16th of his career Tuesday at Columbia. The right-hander pitched 6.1 innings with three runs allowed and striking out a career-high five batters last season to beat the Lions at Bainton Field. He worked three innings with one earned run permitted in his last appearance at Ohio State on April 16.

Out of the bullpen, redshirt junior Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) leads the staff with 15 outings and four saves, holding a 2.89 ERA. Junior Ryan Fleming (Churchville, Pa.) pitched twice versus Penn State and has not allowed an earned run in his last 10 games to lower his ERA down to 0.96. Rutgers is pitching to a 4.08 ERA for the season with 285 strikeouts in 40 games.

NOTABLE
Rutgers has won 16 of its last 19 at Bainton Field dating back to last season … the team is in a stretch of playing at home in 9-of-11 contests … the Scarlet Knights have won six of their last seven non-conference games … RU is 14-0 when out-hitting the opponent … the offense has reached double-digit hits 15 times and scored 10 or more runs on seven occasions … RU is averaging 2.28 stolen bases per game … the bats have scored most in the fourth inning, totaling 37 runs … starting pitchers are averaging 5.38 innings per start with a 4.06 ERA … RU has played 18 games decided by two runs or less.

SCOUTING COLUMBIA
The defending Ivy League champions, Columbia is coming off a home series win over Princeton by taking three of the four games. That included a four-run comeback in the finale against the Tigers. For the season, Will Savage leads the team with a .371 average, while Robb Paller has knocked in 25 runs. The pitching staff has worked to a 6.15 ERA this year.

Head coach Brett Boretti is in his 11th season in charge of the program. Click here for more information on Columbia baseball.

Rutgers and Columbia have met 25 times since 1990 with the teams playing every year over that span except 2007. The Scarlet Knights are 18-7 during the stretch and won 7-4 last season at Bainton Field. However, the Lions won, 7-6, in the last meet held at Satow Stadium in 2012.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
A member of the Big East, the Wildcats will be returning to New Jersey Wednesday after suffering a three-game sweep at Seton Hall over the weekend. Two of the games went into extra innings. Todd Czinge leads the bats with a .327 batting average and 16 multiple-hit games, as Emmanuel Morris has reached base in each of the last 16 games. The pitchers have a 4.35 ERA this season.

Head coach Joe Godri is in his 15th season at the helm of the Wildcats, as the program is in its 151st season. Click here for more on Villanova baseball.

Rutgers has won six of its last seven games over Villanova, but the Wildcats won last year 7-2 last season. The Scarlet Knights picked up a three-game sweep to end the 2012 regular season in the last meetings between the teams at Bainton Field. The all-time series is knotted at 38 wins apiece since 1948.

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights will stay home to host Nebraska in a three-game series starting Friday at Bainton Field. It will be the first Big Ten series between the teams.

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