CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Rutgers baseball fell into an early hole and could not recover in a 19-3 loss to Miami in the season opener Friday at Alex Rodriguez Park. It was the 10^th time in the last 11 seasons that the Scarlet Knights and Hurricanes met on Opening Day.
 
"Obviously, you don't want start the season that way," head coach Joe Litterio said. "The best thing about baseball is we get another chance tomorrow night to lace them up again and get right back on the field. We will see what we're made of. We didn't work all year to this point to go down after one game. We had a tough start to that game, gave up 12 runs in three innings. That's tough to come back from no matter who you're playing. We get a chance to get after it again tomorrow night and I look forward to seeing what we can do."
 
Offensively, junior Kevin Welsh reached three times on two walks and an RBI double for RU (0-1), while redshirt junior Kevin Blum also recorded a run-scoring double. Freshmen Chris Brito, who knocked in one, David Soto and Peter Serruto all picked up their first collegiate hits in the ballgame.
 
Evan McKendry (1-0) earned the win for Miami (1-0) by striking out eight over six innings, allowing two earned runs. The Hurricanes used home runs by Freddy Zamora and Alex Toral as part of a 20-hit attack, scoring one in the first, six in the second and five in the third.
 
Senior Serafino Brito (0-1) took the loss in a two-inning start. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Muller followed in his first appearance since 2017, logging three innings. Both freshman Brian Fitzpatrick (four strikeouts) and redshirt junior Steven Acosta (no runs against, three strikeouts) made their RU debuts on the mound.
 
Overall, 10 made their first appearance on the field for Rutgers, including seven true freshmen.
 
The Scarlet Knights will look to bounce back in game two of the series set for 7 p.m. Saturday. Sophomore Harry Rutkowski will start on the mound for RU.
 
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