PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball is set make a trip to Evanston, Illinois, this weekend to face Northwestern in a three-game series beginning Friday. The Scarlet Knights' nine Big Ten wins matches the program's high for a season, previously done in 23 games in 2019 and in 24 in 2016.
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 are 5-4 in true road games this season, most recently winning 2-of-3 at Purdue on the previous trip. RU went 1-2 in its last series against Penn State at Bainton Field. After the Nittany Lions claimed two low-scoring games, 1-0 and 5-1, Rutgers broke out for six runs in the eighth inning of the Sunday finale to overcome a 4-0 deficit. Both
Grant Shulman and
Chris Brito worked bases-loaded walks before
Jordan Sweeney crushed a go-ahead grand slam, the team's fifth of the season.
Brian Fitzpatrick fanned two in a perfect ninth to close out the 6-4 win.
Overall, the bullpen combined to pitch 13 innings in the series with only one earned run against. The pitching staff struck out 27 compared to four walks last weekend to take over the Big Ten lead, and rank No. 14 nationally, with a 3.45 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Rutgers is also second in the conference with a 1.24 WHIP.
Sweeney went 7-for-12 with a pair of 3-for-4 performances to earn
Big Ten Freshman of the Week. He became the third different Scarlet Knight to earn the honor in the first five weeks of the season, joining
Josh Rodriguez (
March 16) and
Ryan Lasko (
March 30).
Hitting: Rutgers is third in the Big Ten and 11
th nationally with 1.53 homers per game. The 26 homers are the most for the team in a Big Ten season, besting the 12 hit in 2015 (24 games). Brito is tied for the league lead with nine long balls and is looking to become the first Scarlet Knight to reach double figures since Patrick Kivlehan (14) in 2012. He also paces the conference with 27 RBIs.
Sweeney is next on the team with six homers, 22 RBIs and a .717 slugging percentage, while
Mike Nyisztor is second in the Big Ten with a .412 batting average and a .524 on-base percentage. Rodriguez owns the lineup's longest active on-base streak with eight-straight games safely reaching.
Pitching: Harry Rutkowski has worked at least eight innings his last two starts, totaling 22.1 innings with only two earned runs permitted, 19 strikeouts and a .143 batting average against in his last three outings. The left-hander leads the Big Ten with 33.1 innings pitched, ranks second with a 2.43 ERA and is fourth with a 0.96 WHIP in 2021.
Ben Wereski is also among the league leaders, sitting atop the charts with only 0.96 walks allowed per nine innings, an 8.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 0.86 WHIP, while ranking fourth with a 2.57 ERA.
In the bullpen,
Kyle Muller has made a team-high seven appearances with only one run, four hits and one walk allowed in 9.2 innings for a 0.52 WHIP.
Nate McLain is coming off a season-high 2.1 innings last time out and owns a 2.61 ERA, as
Dale Stanavich leads the relief corps with 14 strikeouts. In addition,
Eric Reardon moved into the top-10 in program history with his 71
st career appearance on Sunday, which resulted in 1.1 scoreless innings.
SERIES HISTORY
Rutgers is set to visit Evanston for the second time, previously ending the 2017 season at Northwestern. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 9-3, and hold a 7-2 advantage in Big Ten action. The first meeting was a 3-2 win for the Scarlet Knights on March 26, 1969.
UP NEXT
Rutgers is back home next weekend to play Iowa in a four-game set beginning April 16 at Bainton Field. The series will include a Saturday doubleheader.
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