FORT MYERS, Fla. – In its last weekend series before Big Ten play, Rutgers baseball faces Indiana State in a three-game series at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. This is the final leg of a seven-game trip over spring break for the Scarlet Knights. RU is the home team in all three contests and a free audio broadcast will be provided through ScarletKnights.com.
 
Rutgers is coming of a 7-6 Wednesday loss to Harvard in Port Charlotte, falling to 3-3 in games decided by one run this season. The Scarlet Knights previously claimed the Sunday game, 4-1, at Florida Gulf Coast after senior Carmen Sclafani and freshman Victor Valderrama connected for back-to-back home runs in the second inning.
 
Sophomore Mike Nyisztor had his fourth three-hit game of the season to lead a 10-hit attack against the Crimson. He owns a team-leading seven hits on the road trip, while redshirt freshman Tim Dezzi owns a .444 on-base percentage on five hits and three walks.
 
Junior Kevin Welsh has been on base in each of the past 12 games and has taken a team-leading 13 walks on the season. Senior Tyler McNamara has posted a .411 on-base percentage to pace the lineup, with Nyisztor belting four extra-base hits. In addition, junior Kevin Blum is 5-for-5 stealing bases.
 
On the mound, sophomore Harry Rutkowski will pitch the Friday game this weekend. The left-hander owns a 1.80 ERA in his last four starts, allowing five earned runs over 25.0 innings with 25 strikeouts over that span. Junior Kyle Gerace will make his third start on Sunday, totaling a 1.24 WHIP in five appearances so far in 2019. Junior Jack Parkinson takes the ball for the series finale, making his third start.
 
Redshirt junior Tommy Genuario leads the Big Ten with 11 appearances out of the bullpen this year, striking out 12 in 12.2 innings of work. Redshirt junior Steven Acosta leads the staff with a 1.09 WHIP in 11 innings of work, while senior Serafino Brito has a 1.32 ERA in eight appearances since moving back to the bullpen. He stranded four inherited runners last week and did not allow a run in three high-leverage outings. In addition, junior Tevin Murray paces the Big Ten and ranks No. 28 nationally with 13.25 strikeouts per nine innings.
 
City of Palms Park is the former spring training home of the Boston Red Sox and is located at 2201 Edison Ave. in Fort Myers. RU swept Army in a three-game series at the stadium last year.
 
THE OPPONENT
Indiana State is off to its best start in school history with a 16-2 mark through 18 games. The Sycamores had their nine-game winning streak snapped against Indiana Tuesday at home in a 15-14 loss that saw a combined 10 home runs. The pitching staff has hurled three shutouts this season, holding a 3.22 team ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, ranked 15^th nationally. Triston Polley takes the ball for the series opener with a .162 average against, pitching a complete game on 10 strikeouts last week to beat The Citadel. Clay Dungan leads the lineup with four homers, while Max Wright is slashing .407/.478/.644 with 16 RBIs. Head coach Mitch Hannahs is in his sixth season after leading ISU to a 31-24 record last year.
 
THE SERIES
Indiana State won the only game in the all-time series, claiming a 14-4 victory on March 15, 2015 in Terre Haute. Joe D'Annunzio hit a two-run homer for Rutgers.
 
UP NEXT
Rutgers returns to New Jersey to host Stony Brook Tuesday at 3 p.m. The next series is at home versus Ohio State to open the Big Ten portion of the schedule.
 
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