PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball (20-28, 9-11) closes the regular season with a three-game series starting Thursday at No. 21 Indiana (33-19, 14-7). The Scarlet Knights hold the eighth and final Big Ten playoff spot heading into the weekend, while the Hoosiers are in second place.
A free radio broadcast through ScarletKnights.com will be available for the Thursday game. Big Ten Network is set to carry the Friday and Saturday contests with Brandon Gaudin (Friday), Mike Monaco (Saturday) and Scott Pose (Friday & Saturday) on the call.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights (9-11) are in eighth place in the Big Ten standings, a half game ahead of both Ohio State (9-12) and Maryland (9-12) for the last spot to next week's Big Ten Tournament. Both Michigan State (7-13) and Purdue (7-13) are both two games behind with three games remaining for each team. RU owns the tiebreaker over the Spartans and the Boilermakers after winning series over both, as all will play the same number of games. Northwestern (10-11) is a half game in front of Rutgers for seventh place. Here are the five other Big Ten series on the schedule for this weekend:
Minnesota (13-8) at Northwestern (10-11)
Illinois (13-8) at Michigan State (7-13)
Ohio State (9-12) at Purdue (7-13)
Iowa (12-9) at Maryland (9-12)
Michigan (15-5) at Nebraska (13-8)
The nine Big Ten wins for the Scarlet Knights tie the 2016 team for the most in league play since joining the conference. RU took one game from both Ohio State and Iowa before sweeping Michigan State and winning 2-of-3 over Purdue. Most recently, Rutgers claimed one on the road at Penn State, with the rubber game being rained out, and won the series finale versus Northwestern.
The 5-4 victory over the Wildcats was the final game at Bainton Field this season. Northwestern won the Friday opener, 5-3, by scoring five in the seventh before edging out a 4-0 game on the front end of a Saturday doubleheader. The Scarlet Knights rebounded to hold on to the nightcap on the strength of a homers from seniors
Carmen Sclafani (three-run) and
Tyler McNamara (solo). Junior
Tommy Genuario pitched seven innings with one earned run permitted. Junior
Eric Reardon then escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth inning to keep the lead, with junior
Steven Acosta recording the final three outs for his first collegiate save.
The RU pitching staff leads the Big Ten with a 3.09 ERA in conference games. That includes 10 times holding the opponent to two earned runs or less in a game. The lowest conference ERA for Rutgers a Big Ten season was 5.26 in 2016 and the best in league play this century was 3.22 in 2000 as a member of the Big East.
Sophomore
Harry Rutkowski is set to take the ball in the weekend opener for the 13
th time this season. The left-hander ranks sixth in program history with 74 strikeouts on the season and is leading the staff with 76 innings pitched. His best start was a 12-strikeout performance over eight scoreless innings to beat Purdue on April 19. Rutkowski has induced seven double plays.
Junior
Tevin Murray, who is fourth in the league with a 2.31 ERA, has permitted just one earned run in his last six starts (38 IP, 0.24 ERA), while holding a 0.61 ERA (3 ER, 44 IP) in conference play to rank third among qualifying Big Ten pitchers. Jeff Criswell (2 ER, 37.1 IP, 0.48 ERA) from Michigan is first and Trent Johnson (2 ER, 30.1 IP, 0.59 ERA) from Purdue is second, with Murray having thrown 6.2 and 13.2 more innings, respectively. In addition, Murray paces all Big Ten pitchers with a .189 batting average against for the season (.159 BAA versus Big Ten) and has struck out 78 to rank fifth in a season in school history. His season WHIP is 1.16 and 1.00 in the conference.
Genuario, who made his first collegiate start in the initial conference series of the season, has given up two earned runs or less in 6-of-7 appearances in the Big Ten. His ERA is 2.58 overall and 2.50 as a starter this year. Last week was the second time he went seven innings in a game, also doing so versus Ohio State. The right-hander holds a 1.35 WHIP.
In relief, Acosta is tied for the Big Ten lead with 28 appearances, including 15 in conference play. He has pitched in all three games in a series three times (Ohio State, Michigan State, Northwestern), a feat that had not been done once by a Scarlet Knight previously since Nathaniel Roe in 2013. Senior
Serafino Brito has saved eight games, and 13 in his career, with 170 strikeouts the past four seasons to rank eighth in the program record books. The right-hander is also third on the charts at 84 appearances, two from matching
Max Herrmann (2014-17) for second place.
Sophomore
Mike Nyisztor is slashing .310/.383/.381 against Big Ten pitchers to lead the lineup, picking up 57 hits and 15 stolen bases to pace the team for the season. Redshirt freshman
Tim Dezzi holds a .381 on-base percentage, while Sclafani has connected for seven homers on a .407 slugging percentage with 33 RBIs. Junior
Kevin Welsh ranks sixth in the conference with 32 walks drawn this year.
NOTES
Rutgers has totaled 356 strikeouts on the mound so far, seventh-most in a season in program history … the defense ranks first in the Big Ten and 37
th nationally with 43 double plays turned this season (21 turned in conference play) … the Scarlet Knights have scored a runner from third with less than two outs at a 54.5 percent clip in conference play compared to 39.3 by opponent … the pitchers have held Big Ten opponents to a .215 average with runners scoring position … Rutgers is out-scoring opponents by the count of 19-8 in the first inning in conference play … Rutgers is fourth in the Big Ten with 58 stolen bases for the season … RU is 11-1 when scoring six or more runs in a game and 65-15 since 2016 … the Scarlet Knights have played into extra innings six times (2-4) after zero such games last year, as it is the most extra-inning games since playing nine in 2011 … the Scarlet Knights have scored 36 runs in the seventh inning, the most of any frame … Rutgers baseball was honored with the most improved male team GPA at the annual athletic department banquet … the Scarlet Knights raised over $4,100 towards the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation's Vs. Cancer program this year and have raised over $47,000 since 2013.
THE OPPONENT
Indiana is nationally ranked in several polls and as high as No. 21 in the latest
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll. The Hoosiers have won 6-of-7 Big Ten series this season, including winning two at first-place Michigan last weekend. Most recently, IU dropped an 8-7 home game against No. 7 Louisville in 12 innings. Matt Lloyd and Cole Barr have slugged 15 homers apiece this season to tie for the Big Ten lead, as the lineup ranks fourth nationally with 1.62 per game on 84 overall. On the mound, Pauly Milto has a 3.24 ERA, while Andrew Saalfrank has struck out 90 in 63.2 innings.
Head coach Jeff Mercer is in his first season after a stint at Wright State.
THE SERIES
Rutgers and Indiana have not played a Big Ten series since April 2016 at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights used a strong effort on the mound to secure a series win, with Howie Brey tossing a complete game in the opener. The left-hander struck out eight batters in the 7-1 victory, walked none and was awarded Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the efforts. Then in the middle game,
Kyle Driscoll worked six innings with two runs allowed, while
Max Herrmann dealt three scoreless frames to seal a 3-2 win.
Christian Campbell provided a decisive double in the series-clinching win. The Hoosiers took the finale, 9-2, and swept the previous series at Bart Kaufman Field in 2015.
The teams most recently matched up in a non-conference game in Port Charlotte on Feb. 23, 2018. The Scarlet Knights erased a three-run deficit to tie the game in the top of the eighth before the 17
th-ranked Hoosiers scored the go-ahead run in the bottom half in a 7-6 final. IU leads the all-time series, 5-2.
UP NEXT
The Big Ten Tournament starts Wednesday, May 22 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
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