UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Rutgers baseball (18-25, 7-9) suffered a 5-4 loss in 11 innings in the series opener at Penn State (20-20, 3-15). The game started Friday evening before a thunderstorm forced play to be pushed into Saturday.
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Senior
Carmen Sclafani hit a two-run homer in the top of the second to give the Scarlet Knights a 2-1 lead. He later added a single, while junior
Kevin Welsh also contributed two hits. Freshman
Victor Valderrama extended his on-base streak to 19 games.
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On the mound, sophomore
Harry Rutkowski worked the first two innings with one unearned run allowed before the storm ended his outing. He picked up three strikeouts. Junior
Tommy Genuario came in relief Saturday and pitched five frames with two runs permitted. Junior
Steven Acosta went one inning and senior
Serafino Brito collected eight outs from the bullpen.
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The Nittany Lions plated the last four runs in the game after the Scarlet Knights took a 4-1 lead in the seventh. A sacrifice fly by Parker Hendershot with bases loaded in the 11
th concluded the game. Rutgers has now played into extra innings six this season, the most since doing so nine times in 2011.
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SCORING
- The Nittany Lions plated an unearned run in the bottom of the first after a two-out triple.
- The Scarlet Knights answered in the top of the second. Valderrama reached on a single and scored on a two-out, two-run homer to right field by Sclafani, his sixth of the season.
- The game stayed 2-1 until the seventh when RU added two runs. Welsh and Sclafani both singled with one out and advanced into scoring position with two down. Freshman David Soto laid down a bunt and the pitcher threw it away to permit both runners to cross.
- Penn State responded with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the seventh.
- PSU evened the game in the last of the eighth with a double, sacrifice bunt and wild pitch.
- The winning run crossed on a sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the 11th.
