PISCATAWAY, N.J.  – Rutgers baseball (6-9) returned the win column by beating Monmouth (5-9), 5-2, Tuesday at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights have now won the past five meetings against the Hawks and improved to 32-9 in the all-time series.
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"All wins are good," head coach
Steve Owens said. "Our guys pitched well today, did not give up an extra base hit, minimized jams and walked only two. That was a positive. Richie and Jordan were good offensively and others got some hits. We didn't do a good job of getting guys in again with runners in scoring position, but wound up on the right end of the scoreboard."
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Freshman
Jordan Sweeney earned his first career start and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. He improved to 7-for-16 (.438) overall as rookie. Redshirt sophomore
Richie Schiekofer reached base three more times on two doubles and an intentional walk, bumping his on-base percentage to .478. The outfielder has been on 15-of-22 times. In addition, both sophomore
Chris Brito and redshirt junior
Danny DiGeorgio reached multiple times, as RU posted nine hits on the day.
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"It's awesome to be able to help the team," Sweeney said. "I've learned so much this year, which has helped me get better. At the plate, I've been looking to be aggressive and battle with two strikes. I want to hit the ball hard somewhere. It was great to get the win today."
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On the mound, sophomore
Jared Bellissimo provided three scoreless innings in the start, allowing only two hits. Sophomore
Parker Scott followed up with three strikeouts in two frames, while senior
Eric Reardon (1-0) earned the win by retiring 7-of-8 batters faced. Redshirt junior
Kyle Muller recorded the final five outs for his second career save.
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"This was a quality win to get the ball rolling again as we head into spring break," Reardon said. "It was a good day mixing all my pitches and having the confidence of coach (Brendan) Monaghan to get everything over no matter the count. Today was a great team win."
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The Hawks recorded eight singles offensively and left nine runners on base. Cory Hiltz (0-1) took the loss with three runs (one earned) permitted in three innings.
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- The Scarlet Knights scored first with two runs in the second. Schiekofer led off with a ground-rule double to left-center to extend his hitting streak to seven. Brito followed with a single to put runners at first and third before Sweeney delivered an RBI single to right field. An errant catcher pickoff throw allowed both runners to move up, with a run-scoring groundout by sophomore Victor Valderrama making it 2-0.
- RU tacked on one run in the third. DiGeorgio led off drawing a walk and junior Mike Nyisztor singled with one out to put two aboard. DiGeorgio then advanced to third on a flyout, scoring on a passed ball.
- Colin McCreary hit a two-out, two-run single to put Monmouth on the board in the fourth.
- Sweeney notched his second RBI of the game in the sixth on a two-out double to score Schiekofer, who had previously doubled. That extended the lead to 4-2.
- In the seventh, senior Kevin Welsh led off with a bunt single down the third base line and DiGeorgio followed with a single. Redshirt sophomore Tim Dezzi laid down a sacrifice bunt. The second out was recorded before Schiekofer was intentionally walked to load the bases. Brito then absorbed a pitch for an RBI that upped it to a 5-2 advantage.
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Rutgers begins its spring break trip in Fort Myers, Florida, by playing Army West Point Friday at noon at City of Palms Park.
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