PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball will plays its fourth-straight true road game, and 17^th of the season, Wednesday in a 3:35 p.m. matchup at Lafayette. The Scarlet Knights produced a school-record 28 runs in their last trip to Kamine Stadium in 2017.
 
A free audio broadcast of the game will be available through ScarletKnights.com.
 
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights split four games last week, topping Wagner, 11-10, at home to improve to 6-4 in one-run games this season and taking one in a three-game series at Iowa. The weekend in Iowa City started with a 6-1 Friday loss before the Hawkeyes won, 9-5, in the first end of a Saturday doubleheader. However, the Scarlet Knights bounced back and thumped Iowa, 15-3, in the nightcap. The 12-run margin of victory was the most for Rutgers in a Big Ten game since joining the conference in 2015.
 
Both freshman Chris Brito and senior Carmen Sclafani slugged three-run homers to highlight the outburst, as RU hit 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position. The 15 runs and 15 hits both marked season highs. Junior Tevin Murray did not allow an earned run over five innings on the mound for his first collegiate win.
 
For his performance, Sclafani earned both Big Ten Player of the Week and was listed among Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week. He became the second Scarlet Knight to collect the former (R.J. Devish in 2016) and first to garner a national weekly honor since Pat Biserta in 2010. He went 8-for-14 with a walk in the four games, hitting 5-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Toms River native crushed a pair of three-run homers and ended with 12 RBIs for the week, including seven knocked in versus Wagner. It was only the fourth time since 2000 that a Rutgers hitter achieved the feat.
 
"We worked on a lot of things in the fall and in the winter, but as the season goes you have make adjustments," Sclafani said. "I made changes since the beginning of the season was kind of slow for me. I think not only me, but the team has picked it up a lot compared to the beginning of the season. We're making progress in the right direction and I think it's really just a result of the stuff that coaches Litterio and Duffy have been working with us. Staying short to the ball and getting through the baseball is something that I'm still working on every day in batting practice."
 
Sclafani leads the team with four homers and 17 RBIs on the season, holding a .376 slugging percentage. Redshirt freshman Tim Dezzi paces the lineup with a .425 on-base percentage, tied for seventh in the Big Ten, on 33 hits and 18 walks. Junior Kevin Welsh has also walked 18 times and has been on base in each of the last 23 games, the longest RU on-base streak since Kyle Walker reached 24 games last season.
 
Brito picked up a team-high six hits in the Iowa series, blasting a three-run homer in the win. Sophomore Mike Nyisztor connected for his first collegiate long ball on the trip, leading the Scarlet Knights with 36 hits, 45 total bases and seven stolen bases on the year. After not homering in the first 15 games, RU has lifted nine in the last 13 contests.
 
On the mound, freshman Jared Bellissimo is set to make his fourth start on Wednesday. The left-hander's best outing was March 26 versus Stony Brook, logging five scoreless frames. He has struck out 10 in 13.1 innings overall.
 
Both senior Serafino Brito and junior Steven Acosta are tied for first among Big Ten pitchers with 16 appearances in 2019. Brito sits locked with Barry Walsh (1997-00) in program history with 73 career games, working three scoreless innings last time at Iowa for his fourth save of the season. Acosta, owing a 1.43 WHIP, has seen action in six of the last seven games. The bullpen has stranded 65 percent of inherited runners this season.
 
THE OPPONENT
Lafayette comes in on a four-game winning streak, sweeping Bucknell last weekend to improve to 6-4 in the Patriot League. That included scoring six runs in the first inning of the Sunday win. The Leopards have connected on 16 homers on the season, with Trey Durrah hitting four and driving in a league-high 31 runs. Ethan Stern ranks 20^th nationally with 12 times being hit by pitch. Mark Anderson is the projected starting pitcher after making a two-inning start Saturday. He has struck out 25 and walked 28 in 30 innings this season. The defense ranks ninth nationally with one double play averaged per game (29 total).
 
Head coach Joe Kinney is in his 20^th season leading the program. Assistant coach Tim Reilly was on the RU staff prior to joining the Leopards and was on the team from 2006-09, including the 2007 Big East championship.
 
THE SERIES
Rutgers is undefeated in its last 23 matchups against Lafayette, going 22-0-1 back to 1994. Last year at Bainton Field, the Scarlet Knights claimed a 4-2 win by holding the Leopards to four hits. RU last visited Easton in 2017 and plated seven runs in the first inning, six in the second and six in the third on the way to a 28-4 victory. It was the most runs scored in a game in program history and the 24 hits tallied were the most since 2010. Twelve different players had a hit. Rutgers leads the series, 71-29-1, dating back to 1946. RU has only played Seton Hall (111) more over that time period.
 
UP NEXT
Rutgers opens up a season-long seven-game homestand Friday versus Michigan State. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Bainton Field.
 
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