PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball is scheduled for five games this week, starting with a pair of midweek contests in non-conference action. The Scarlet Knights will first cross into New York for a Tuesday matchup at Columbia before returning to Bainton Field to host Iona Wednesday in a makeup game. The next Big Ten series starts Friday at Michigan.
Both games will be available to stream online, with ESPN+ broadcasting Tuesday and BTN Plus Wednesday.
Admission and parking are free at Bainton Field, but
all vehicles are required to be registered to comply with a new Rutgers University policy. Only one registration per vehicle is needed for the season.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights enter the week having won nine of the last 13 games. That includes going 6-1 in the last seven Big Ten games to complete the first half of the conference schedule with a 7-5 record, tied for fifth place.
Most recently, RU won 2-of-3 at home over Purdue. Sophomore
Harry Rutkowski struck out a career-high 12 in eight scoreless innings to win the series opener, 2-0. It was the most strikeouts in a game by a Scarlet Knights sine Charlie Law in 2013. The Boilermakers broke open a scoreless game after six innings to win Saturday, 6-2, but Rutgers responded with a 6-1 victory in the rubber game. Junior
Tevin Murray worked six scoreless innings and the offense registered three two-out RBI singles to claim the series.
Junior
Tommy Genuario added six innings without surrendering an earned run to make it 20 innings from the starting rotation with no earned runs allowed last weekend. Overall, the pitching staff held Purdue to 4-for-27 (.148) with runners in scoring position and stranded 27 runners. RU currently leads the Big Ten with a 2.61 ERA in conference play.
Senior
Serafino Brito added two saves in the series to make it eight on the season, which is tied for fifth-most in a season in school history. He is also fifth in the program record books with 79 career appearances and ranks tied for fifth with 13 saves as a Scarlet Knight. Brito and junior
Steven Acosta are tied for the Big Ten high with 22 appearances in 2019.
Freshman
Jared Bellissimo is set to make his sixth start of the season. The left-hander left with the lead last week after permitting one run in five innings versus Hofstra.
Offensively, sophomore
Mike Nyisztor has been on base in each of the last 17 games and brings a seven-game hitting streak into the week. He picked up five hits in the Purdue series and leads the lineup with 48 hits, 10 stolen bases and 20 runs this season. Redshirt
Tim Dezzi has also scored 20 times and holds a team-high .413 on-base percentage. Senior
Carmen Sclafani has slugged four homers and owns 20 RBIs.
Rutgers last played five games in a week in May 2017 when competing in a doubleheader at Minnesota before a series at Northwestern.
THE OPPONENTS
Columbia is in first place in the Ivy League after winning 2-of-3 against Brown last weekend. Chandler Bengston had three homers in the Sunday doubleheader and is first in school history with 29 in his career. Projected starter Sean Higgins pitched three scoreless innings versus Monmouth in his last appearance on April 17.
Iona won the rubber game of its most recent series against Niagara with a 14-0 victory. Fran Kinsey paces the Gaels with 23 RBIs, while Niko Switalla has clubbed three homers.
THE SERIES
Rutgers leads the series over Columbia, 46-24, since 1946 as the teams have alternated wins and losses in the last eight meetings. The Scarlet Knights won by the score of 15-4 last season behind a career-high four RBIs from
Kevin Blum and five effective innings on the mound by
Eric Reardon. RU last traveled to Columbia in 2016, but the game was rained out. The last completed game between the programs at Satow Stadium was a 7-6 win in 2012 for the Lions in 10 innings.
Rutgers has won 28-of-34 meetings with Iona since 1978. The Gaels won last season at Bainton Field, 12-3.
UP NEXT
After playing two consecutive weekends at home, Rutgers returns to the road for a Big Ten series at Michigan. The set starts Friday at 6 p.m.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on
Facebook and Twitter
(@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific content regarding baseball, follow the program on Twitter (
@RutgersBaseball), Instagram
(@rutgersbaseball) and Facebook (
/BaseballRU). For additional updates, please download the
Gameday App.
