PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Winners of four of its last five Big Ten games, Rutgers baseball is set to take on No. 17 Michigan in a three-game conference series starting Friday at Bainton Field. It will be the fourth weekend set this season for the Scarlet Knights against a ranked opponent.

Friday's series opener will broadcast on BTN Plus with Lou Brogno and Joe Godri on the call, while the final two games will be a one-camera stream through BTN2Go. WRSU will call all three contests at 88.7-FM.

Rutgers (15-23, 4-5) vs. No. 17 Michigan (31-9, 7-5) - Bainton Field
Game 39	April 28 - 3 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	Rutgers - RHP Gaby Rosa (3-4, 6.42 ERA) Michigan - LHP Oliver Jaskie (5-2, 3.65 ERA)
Coverage	BTN Plus | | WRSU 88.7-FM
Promotion	Free Stuff Friday
Game 40	April 29 - 1 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	Rutgers - RHP Serafino Brito (3-6, 4.78 ERA) Michigan - RHP Alec Rennard (5-1, 4.10 ERA)
Coverage	BTN2Go | | WRSU 88.7-FM
Promotion	Sunglasses Giveaway
Game 41	April 30 - 11 a.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	Rutgers - RHP John O'Reilly (4-5, 5.46 ERA) Michigan - LHP Michael Hendrickson (4-1, 4.50 ERA)
Coverage	BTN2Go | | WRSU 88.7-FM
Promotion	Kids Run the Bases
	Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Fact Book
Social Media	Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Snapchat

SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights won the last two games at Iowa to claim the series, also doing the same the weekend before at home versus Purdue. It marked the first time in program history that the team lost the opener of a three-game series and came back to win the next two in back-to-back weekend sets. After a 0-4 start in the league, RU is now 4-5 and currently sitting in eighth place in the standings, as the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs.

Michigan will be the 11th different Big Ten team to visit Piscataway since Rutgers joined the conference for the 2015 season, with Illinois rounding out the circuit next month. The Wolverines will also be the fourth ranked opponent to trek to Bainton Field since it opened in 2007 and first since then-No. 13 Iowa in 2015. The Scarlet Knights won 2-of-3 that series.

In taking the Sunday rubber game over the Hawkeyes, Rutgers pounded out seven extra-hits and 13 runs, the most scored by the team in a Big Ten road game. Sophomore Jawuan Harris reached base the first five times to the plate and sophomore Nick Matera blasted a three-run home run. In addition, both senior Tom Marcinczyk and freshman Kevin Welsh collected three hits apiece. The night before on Big Ten Network, sophomore Serafino Brito allowed just one run over six innings in a 5-3 victory.

Most recently, RU suffered a 13-7 midweek loss at home against Columbia. Sophomore Carmen Sclafani went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, with senior Mike Carter hitting a solo home run and a two-run single. The game was called after eight innings due to darkness.

Carter is No. 31 nationally with a .391 batting average, which is ahead of Michigan's Ako Thomas (.371) for first place in the Big Ten. The senior also paces the league with 61 hits and ranks fourth with a .453 on-base percentage, tied for fourth with 12 doubles, sixth with a .558 slugging percentage and tied for 12th with 30 RBIs. He has 19 multiple-hit games this season and has reached base in 35-of-38 contests.

In addition, Carter is on the cusp of reaching 200 collegiate hits, now owning 199. Marcinczyk is closely behind at 195. Overall, there have been 15 previous players in school history to reach the 200-hit mark.

Rutgers is hitting .338 over its last 10 games to bump its season batting average to .279, which is fifth-best in the conference. The team has put up five or more runs in nine of those 10 contests. Additionally, the offense has totaled 62 stolen bases in 2017 to rank No. 25 nationally at 1.63 per game. Harris has a Big Ten-best 23 stolen bases - seventh-most nationally - and 60 in his career to sit fifth in the RU record books. The dual-sport athlete is also the team leader with seven home runs and is tied for second in the conference with 36 runs scored.

Junior Chris Folinusz leads the Scarlet Knights with a .500 batting average (8-for-16) in league play this season, registering four doubles in five games played. Marcinczyk is at .345 with nine walks for a .500 on-base percentage against conference opponents. He is tied for the Big Ten lead with 27 walks overall and has drawn 103 in his career, which is 10th-most in the school record books.

On the mound, Rutgers will stick with the starting rotation of senior Gaby Rosa, Brito and junior John O'Reilly. Rosa went six innings last time at Iowa and leads the staff with 10 career wins. Brito has worked at least six innings in his last four starts, earning a Big Ten win the last two times out. The right-hander has walked one or fewer hitters in 8-of-9 outings this season, ranking No. 28 nationally with only 1.28 walks surrendered per nine innings. O'Reilly paces the team with 57.2 innings this season and has won his last three starts. He took a perfect game into the seventh inning when last taking the mound at Bainton Field.

Senior Ryan Fleming leads the staff and is tied for eighth in the conference with 18 appearances on the season. Also left-handers, fifth-year senior Max Herrmann and freshman Eric Reardon both have seen action on the hill 16 times. Herrmann five saves and 14 in his career, tied for third-most in school history.

NOTABLE
Rutgers is 41-12 since 2015 when scoring at least six runs in a game and 12-4 this year … Welsh is currently on a team-best seven-game hitting streak … RU has 27 home runs this season compared to 19 in all of 2016 … the previous ranked teams to visit Bainton Field were No. 13 Iowa in 2015 (2-1), No. 10 Houston in 2014 (1-2) and No. 18 Connecticut in 2011 (1-2) … the Scarlet Knights have outscored opponents in first inning, 30-20 … the offense has registered 10 or more hits in 14 different games … RU has at least one stolen base in 12 of the last 13 games … Sclafani has reached base safely in 10-straight games, the longest active streak on the team … Brito has walked one batters or less in 16-of-19 career starts on the mound.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The Wolverines, who did not play a midweek game, are coming off a 14-3 homestand that ended with losing a series against Indiana. The team is ranked in all six national polls, being as high as No. 17. Offensively, Michigan tops the Big Ten in several categories including batting average (.297), runs (289) and stolen bases (89). Thomas is hitting .371/.483/.406 with 20 steals, while Drew Lugbauer is first in the league with 49 RBIs. Friday starter Oliver Jaskie has the most strikeouts in the conference at 75 to pace a staff that holds a 3.24 ERA.

Head coach Erik Bakich is in his fifth season. Click here for the full Michigan weekend preview.

THE SERIES
Rutgers suffered a three-game sweep last season in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the first Big Ten series between the teams. The first all-time meeting was a Michigan win in 1912, with the Scarlet Knights picking up three wins in a set played at the New York Mets spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, Florida, in Feb. 2011.

UP NEXT
Rutgers will wrap its five-game homestand with a Tuesday matinee against Wagner at 1 p.m. The next Big Ten series will be at Nebraska the following weekend.

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), Facebook (/BaseballRU) and Snapchat (rutgersbaseball).