PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Coming off a series win at second-place and then-No. 17 Michigan, Rutgers baseball returns to the road to take on first-place and No. 19 Nebraska in a three-game series starting Friday at Hawks Field. The Scarlet Knights are 9-6 in true road games this season and are seeking a winning record on the road for the first time since 2007.
 
This is the first end of back-to-back weekends facing the Cornhuskers, as the two teams will also meet two times during the pod at Bainton Field next week. RU is in the midst of 14 consecutive games against the top four teams in the Big Ten standings.
 
"I don't treat road games any different than home games," head coach Steve Owens said. "A game is a game. If you treat them different, then that gives you an excuse to lose on the road. That's not something that I've ever done in my coaching career. Winning on the road is something that we take pride in, but winning is winning. We treat every game equally."
 

COVERAGE

Big Ten Network+ is set to broadcast each of the three contests. A Big Ten Network+ subscription gives access to live streaming produced by the Big Ten Network in partnership with the member schools of the Big Ten Conference. A television provider is not needed to subscribe.
 
A free radio broadcast for each game this weekend will be available through ScarletKnights.com and the Scarlet Knights App. Live stats from Sidearm Sports are available as well to follow.
 

SCOUTING RUTGERS

The Scarlet Knights have won their past three road series, winning the rubber game at Purdue, Northwestern and Michigan. RU entered the season with four Big Ten road series victories in the previous five conference seasons.
 
Most recently, Rutgers snapped a 16-game losing streak against ranked Big Ten opponents on the road with a 4-2 Saturday victory to even the series against the Wolverines, who won 6-4 on Friday. Ben Wereski matched his career high with 7.2 innings pitched, striking out six and permitting only one earned run. Richie Schiekofer provided the big hit offensively by lacing a three-run double in the sixth inning, with Nate McLain recording the last four outs in a 4-2 win. Then Sunday, Brent Teller escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first unharmed and carried a no-hitter and shutout into the seventh inning. The right-hander ended up logging a career-high 7.1 innings, retiring 13 batters in a row during one stretch, surrendering only two hits and striking out eight. Ryan Lasko blasted a two-run homer for support. In relief, Justin Sinibaldi collected the last five outs for his first collegiate save, wrapping up a 3-2 victory.
 
It was the second series win over a ranked Big Ten opponent, joining the 2015 weekend victory over No. 13 Iowa at home.

The pitchers combined to allow just 19 hits in 26 innings against the Wolverines, permitting just five extra-base hits with 21 strikeouts. Lasko drew five walks in the series, while Mike Nyisztor recorded five hits and Peter Serruto reached base 4-for-7 plate appearances.
 
Hitting: Rutgers has hit 37 homers, the most for the team in a season since reaching the same number in 53 games in 2017. The previous high for long balls in a Big Ten season was 12 in 2015 (24 games). Overall, the Scarlet Knights rank 17^th nationally and second in the conference with 1.37 homers per game.
 
Chris Brito and Lasko each own nine homers and look to become the first Scarlet Knight since Patrick Kivlehan (14) in 2012 to reach double figures in a season. Lasko ranks fourth in the Big Ten with a .663 slugging percentage and has nine multiple-hit games, while Nyisztor is sixth in the league with a .465 on-base percentage. Brito (28) and Jordan Sweeney (26) rank third and seventh in the conference, respectively, in RBIs.
 
Pitching: The Scarlet Knights will stick with the same starting rotation: Harry Rutkowski, Wereski and Teller. Rutkowski is set to make his 40^th career start, and 26^th to start a weekend, and is five strikeouts shy of becoming the fifth pitcher in program history to reach 200 strikeouts. Wereski holds the top spot on the conference leaderboard for WHIP (0.89), walks allowed per nine innings (1.12) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.67:1). The left-hander holds a 2.79 ERA with four starts of at least seven innings. Teller has given up just two earned runs in his last two starts. The right-hander ranks 37^th among active Division I pitchers with 212 career strikeouts, 19^th with 258 innings pitched and 22^nd with 42 games started.
 
The bullpen has six different pitchers who have combined for nine saves. Dale Stanavich leads the relief corps with 19 strikeouts, while Kyle Muller has appeared 12 times with a 0.98 WHIP. McLain is down to a 2.04 ERA with just two earned runs allowed in his last six outings (11.2 innings).
 
Overall, the pitching staff ranks first in the league and 16^th nationally with only 3.05 walks allowed per nine innings, while sitting second in the Big Ten with a 2.68 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

🆕 Midwest Connection@RutgersBaseball is running the gauntlet in @B1Gbaseball and holding its own.@PatrickEbert44 breaks down the Scarlet Knights and Michigan after a series between the two in Ann Arbor.https://t.co/5jZdY02NLO

— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) April 28, 2021

SERIES HISTORY

Rutgers won the last series versus Nebraska at Bainton Field in 2018 by winning the rubber game, 8-4. The Cornhuskers won the three previous games at Hawks Field in 2017 and lead the all-time series, 9-3. The first two meetings were Nebraska wins at a 2001 NCAA Regional played in Lincoln.
 

UP NEXT

The Scarlet Knights are back home to host a weekend pod with Nebraska and Indiana at Bainton Field starting May 7. All events at Rutgers Athletics venues operate in accordance with current statewide restrictions on gatherings. As a result, baseball games at this time are not open to the public.
 
Bainton Field Pod
Friday (2 p.m.): Rutgers vs. Indiana
Saturday (11 a.m.): Rutgers vs. Indiana
Saturday (3 p.m.): Indiana vs. Nebraska
Sunday (11 a.m.): Indiana vs. Nebraska
Sunday (3 p.m.): Rutgers vs. Nebraska
Monday (11 a.m.): Rutgers vs. Nebraska
 
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding baseball, follow the program on Twitter (@RutgersBaseball), Instagram (@rutgersbaseball) and Facebook (/BaseballRU). For additional updates, please download the Scarlet Knights App via the app store or play store.