PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After junior
Tevin Murray left two in scoring position in the top of the first inning, Rutgers baseball (15-21, 7-5) scored three in the bottom half on the way to a 6-1 victory over Purdue (13-25, 6-8) in the rubber game of the series Sunday at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights have won six of their last seven Big Ten games.
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The 7-5 conference record through four series is the best for RU since beginning 8-4 in the Big East in 2013. The team has four Big Ten series remaining on the schedule this season.
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"To come out in the first inning and not let them score and put three on board right away changed the game," head coach
Joe Litterio said. "Tevin didn't have his best stuff like last week, but battled through to give us a chance to win. And it was important to tack on runs late. We had a much better two-strike approach today. We talked about taking care of business at home and we were able to do that this weekend."
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Murray, the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, worked six-plus innings with five strikeouts and no runs allowed. He left eight runners on base to extend to 20.2 consecutive innings without permitting an earned run. The left-hander now owns a 0.78 ERA with a .186 average against in the Big Ten, earning wins in each of his last three starts.
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Senior
Serafino Brito closed out the last three innings for his eighth save of the season, tied for fifth-most in a season in school history. The right-hander ended the game striking out the side in the ninth. He previously stranded two inherited runners in the seventh.
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The Scarlet Knights now own a 2.61 ERA in the Big Ten with just 11 earned runs allowed in the past seven league games.
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Offensively, the Scarlet Knights collected 11 hits in the game and hit 5-for-14 with runners in scoring position, picking up three two-out RBIs. All nine in the lineup reached at least once, with senior
Tyler McNamara and freshman
Victor Valderrama both recording a single, a double and two knocked in. Sophomore
Mike Nyisztor, who led off the first with a double, added two hits to extend his on-base streak to 17 games. In addition, senior
Carmen Sclafani and freshman
David Soto each drove in a run in a balanced attack.
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James Kulak took the loss for Purdue with three runs allowed in the first inning. The Boilermakers went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring and stranded 11 runners on base.
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Three of the four Big Ten series between Rutgers and Purdue have come down to a rubber game, with the Scarlet Knights 3-0 in such contests.
SCORING
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UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights are scheduled for five games next week. That starts with a Tuesday trip to Columbia for a 3:30 p.m. game before returning the Bainton Field to host Iona in a makeup game Wednesday at 3 p.m. The weekend features a trip to Michigan for a Big Ten series.
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