PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After a 5-1 mark in Big Ten games at Bainton Field the last two weekends, Rutgers baseball returns to the road for a conference series at No. 30 Michigan. The set starts Friday and begins the second half of the league schedule for the Scarlet Knights, winners of six of the last seven Big Ten games.
 
ScarletKnights.com will broadcast a free audio call throughout the weekend.
 
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights' 6-1 stretch in Big Ten play started with a 15-3 victory in the series finale at Iowa, which set a season high in runs, and continued with a home sweep versus Michigan State. That marked the first weekend sweep for the program over a conference opponent since joining the Big Ten in 2015. After that, RU won the opener and the rubber game against Purdue last weekend to improve to 7-5 in the league, which signals the team's best start in conference play since beginning 8-4 in the Big East in 2013.
 
Overall, the Scarlet Knights have won 11 of their last 15 games, a feat also accomplished last season.
 
Most recently, Rutgers won two midweek games, beating Columbia on the road and Iona at home. The victory in New York was propelled by a five-run third inning that saw senior Carmen Sclafani and freshman Chris Brito connect for back-to-back homers. Freshman Jared Bellissimo pitched a career-high six innings with two earned runs permitted in the 8-5 triumph. Hitting the field again Wednesday, the Scarlet Knights posted seven runs in the first three innings to pull away early from Iona, 7-3. Junior Jack Parkinson earned the win on the mound by working a season-high five innings, allowing only one run.
 
RU's 7-5 Big Ten record is tied with Minnesota for fifth in the standings. Rutgers will play three of its final four conference series on the road with trips to Penn State (1-13) and Indiana (9-3) after Michigan (8-3). The remaining home weekend will be against Northwestern (5-7) from May 10-12. The top eight teams in the final Big Ten standings qualify for the playoffs.
 
The pitching staff has lifted the Scarlet Knights into contention with a 2.61 ERA in conference games, the best number in the Big Ten, after posting a 5.76 ERA last year. The starting rotation of sophomore Harry Rutkowski, junior Tommy Genuario and junior Tevin Murray combined to pitch 20 innings without surrendering an earned run versus Purdue. Rutkowski set a new career high with 12 strikeouts, most by a Scarlet Knight since 2013, last Friday over eight scoreless innings. The left-hander has struck out over one per inning on the season with 65 in 63.2 innings of work. Genuario, tied with Rutkowski with a 1.28 WHIP, went six-plus in the middle game with just two unearned runs crossing to lower his season ERA to 2.55, eighth in the Big Ten, before Murray ended the weekend by logging six shutout frames. Murray has not permitted an earned run in his last 20.2 innings of work and owns the third-best ERA in conference action at 0.78.
 
In the bullpen, senior Serafino Brito has collected eight saves, including five in the Big Ten. He closed out both wins versus Purdue by holding a 2-0 lead Friday and then securing the series win with three innings of work on Sunday. Brito, who holds a 2.41 ERA as a reliever, and junior Steven Acosta are tied for the league high with 22 appearances this season. The relievers have stranded 62 percent of inherited runners.
 
Sophomore Mike Nyisztor brings a 19-game on-base streak, and nine-game hitting streak, into the weekend, while both redshirt freshman Tim Dezzi and freshman Victor Valderrama have reached safely in each of their last 15 games. Nyisztor leads the lineup with 51 hits, with 11 going for extra bases, and 11 stolen bases. Dezzi has posted a .414 on-base percentage with 23 runs scored. In addition, Sclafani owns the team highs in homers (five) and RBIs (25) and junior Kevin Welsh (27) in walks.
 
THE OPPONENT
Michigan is ranked No. 30 in the latest NCBWA poll after sweeping Northwestern at home last weekend. The Wolverines, sitting at 16-2 at Fisher Stadium this season, previously dropped 2-of-3 at Ohio State, but won the series against Minnesota and took both games versus Michigan State. The pitching staff ranks fifth nationally with six shutouts, holding a 3.21 ERA to lead the Big Ten. Friday starter Karl Kaufmann permitted only one run in seven innings last weekend against the Wildcats, while Jeff Criswell lowered his Big Ten ERA to a league low at 0.48. At the plate, Jordan Nwogu leads the lineup with a .489 on-base percentage. Jesse Franklin has popped 10 homers and Jordan Brewer has hit nine with 35 RBIs. Michigan has stolen 57 bases in 77 tries.
 
Head coach Erik Bakich is in his seventh season.
 
THE SERIES
Rutgers and Michigan met the last two seasons at Bainton Field, with the Scarlet Knights taking the opener in both series. Last season, RU posted a 15-9 victory before the Wolverines won 9-4 and 6-1. UM leads the all-time series, 7-5.
 
UP NEXT
Rutgers hosts Rider Wednesday at 3 p.m. before heading back to the road for a series at Penn State next weekend.
 
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