NORFOLK, Va. – Junior
Harry Rutkowski allowed only one run and two hits over six innings, junior
Mike Nyisztor hit a game-tying homer in the seventh, but Old Dominion (10-2) scored two in the eighth and held on for a 3-1 win over Rutgers baseball (5-7) Friday at the Metheny Baseball Complex.
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"Harry was outstanding, pitched with a lot of energy," head coach
Steve Owens said. "He kept his velocity late and gave us a really good start. I challenged him to be good today and he was excellent.
Mike Nyisztor had good at bats all day, squared up the ball several times with the homer. For the most part, we created scoring opportunities, but they got hits in key spots. We had several key spots and were beat. The trend of the opposing pitcher beating us with men in scoring position continues, too many strikeouts."
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Rutkowski, who has started all 31 of his collegiate appearances, had a career-low two hits allowed. The left-hander struck out five and walked two. The one run surrendered came in the fourth, but he minimized the rally which began with bases loaded and no outs. Old Dominion entered the game ranked 15th nationally with 8.6 runs per game and 13th with a .425 on-base percentage. For the season, Rutkowski's ERA is now at 2.74 with two earned runs or less permitted in all four outings.
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"I worked on staying down in the zone," Rutkowski said. "Last week, I missed up in the zone. This week I wanted to hammer home keeping the ball down."
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Redshirt junior
Kyle Muller (0-1) followed by escaping a jam in the seventh that started with an error and single. He notched two strikeouts and a groundout to keep the game tied. However, a hit by pitch, an RBI triple and RBI single put the Monarchs ahead after eight.
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Offensively, Nyisztor extended his on-base streak to 12 games and hitting streak to 11 with his second career long ball in seventh. He also walked in the ninth when RU put the tying runs on base with one out, but came away empty. Redshirt sophomore
Richie Schiekofer had two of RU's seven hits. The Scarlet Knights stranded 11 runners on base and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
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Hunter Gregory pitched six scoreless innings in a start on the mound for ODU, while Noah Dean (1-0) earned the win by recording the final four outs. Kyle Battle had the go-ahead RBI triple, as both teams recorded six hits in the game.
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The game included a rain delay of over an hour at the seventh-inning stretch.
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