PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball concludes its 44-game Big Ten schedule by hosting Illinois this weekend at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights have at least one win over each Big Ten team this year with the exception of the Fighting Illini. The program will recognize 13 seniors following Sunday's game.
The Friday series opener has moved up to an 11 a.m. start in an attempt to beat inclement weather forecasted for later in the day.
RU is in eighth place in the Big Ten standings, with the previous best winning percentage in a Big Ten season being .391 (9-14) in 2019 to take 10
th place. The games this weekend will mark the latest on the calendar at home for Rutgers since 1959.
The attendance policy remains the same as last weekend. A pass list will be maintained for player guests, while a limited number of spots will be made available for the general public on a first-come, first-serve basis. Spectators will be required to show proof of a completed contact tracing form upon entry each day. Click
here for more information.
Big Ten Network+ and WRSU 88.7-FM will cover each of the three games this weekend. Live stats from Sidearm Sports are available as well to follow.
Big Ten Network+ (Friday): Dominick Savino & Pat Boyle
WRSU 88.7-FM (Friday): Mike Nichols & Raj Shah
Big Ten Network+ (Saturday): Dominick Savino & Nick Kosko
WRSU 88.7-FM (Saturday): Dylan McCoy & Mike Nichols
Big Ten Network+ (Sunday): Dominick Savino & Pat Boyle
WRSU 88.7-FM (Sunday): Dylan Allen & Jake Schmied
Tim Dezzi: Played in 66 games with 61 starts … totaled 64 hits, 10 doubles, 24 RBIs, 30 walks and four stolen bases … a sport management major … Academic All-Big Ten honoree … favorite Rutgers memory was hitting a walk-off single to beat Butler in New Orleans in 2019 … plans to receive Master's in Global Sports Business at Rutgers University next year.
Danny DiGeorgio: Played in and started 95 games … totaled 103 hits, 74 runs, 15 doubles, three triples, seven homers, 54 RBIs, 33 walks and 24 stolen bases … 2018 All-Big Ten Freshman Team … a civil engineering major … favorite Rutgers memory was sweeping ranked Nebraska on the road … plans to get a job in the engineering field.
Kyle Muller: Pitched in 47 games with one start (four hitless innings at Penn State) … totaled 58 innings with 41 strikeouts and four saves … enrolled in the Global Sports Business Master's program … a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in 2020-21 … favorite Rutgers memory was pitching against Todd Frazier in the alumni game … plans to finish Master's degree next year.
Tevin Murray: Pitched in 53 games with 16 starts … totaled 116.2 innings, 135 strikeouts and six wins … 2019 All-Big Ten Second Team … struck out 81 as a junior, sixth-most in a season in program history … a labor studies and human resource management major … favorite Rutgers memory was pitching eight innings with no earned runs allowed and nine strikeouts to beat Penn State in 2019 … plans to pursue a career in the sales field.
Mike Nyisztor: Played in 152 games with 146 starts … totaled 166 hits, 102 runs, 24 doubles, two triples, four homers, 65 RBIs, 55 walks and 32 stolen bases … a communication major … favorite Rutgers memory was sweeping ranked Nebraska … plans to get a job in the sales field.
Sam Owens: Played in 132 games with 119 starts … totaled 116 hits, 87 runs, 21 doubles, three triples, eight homers, 69 RBIs, 32 walks and 39 times being hit by pitch … 2019 ABCA All-Northeast First Team and All-NEC First Team … a human resources major … Academic All-Big Ten honoree … plans to go into business.
Eric Reardon: Pitched in 76 games with seven starts … ranks seventh in program history in games pitched … totaled 98.2 innings, 78 strikeouts and eight wins … a leadership and management major … favorite Rutgers memory was the 15-inning walk-off win over Ohio State at Bainton Field in 2019 … plans to pursue a Master's degree and get into coaching.
Harry Rutkowski: Pitched in and started 43 games … started the weekend opener 29 times … ranks third in program history with 216 strikeouts, fourth with 43 starts and 10th with 242.2 innings pitched … struck out 83 as a junior, fourth-most in a season in school record book … one of five pitchers in Rutgers history to reach 200 career strikeouts … a criminal justice and labor studies major … a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree … favorite Rutgers memory was sweeping ranked Nebraska … plans to open own gym.
Richie Schiekofer: Played in 73 games with 66 starts … holds a .302 career batting average … totaled 76 hits, 51 runs, 16 doubles, two homers, 33 RBIs, 25 walks and 10 stolen bases … a communication major … Academic All-Big Ten honoree … plans to play pro ball in the future.
Brent Teller: Pitched in 65 games with 44 starts … ranks 45th among active Division I pitchers with 224 career strikeouts, 22nd with 273.1 innings pitched and 27th with 44 games started … owns 16 wins … enrolled in the School of Management and Labor Relations … favorite Rutgers memory was sweeping nationally-ranked Nebraska on the road … plans to play pro ball in the future.
Kevin Welsh: Played in 201 career games with 189 starts … totaled 164 hits, 95 runs, 23 doubles, eight triples, seven homers, 91 RBIs, 100 walks and 23 stolen bases … collected 553 assists and 327 putouts defensively … a sport management and labor studies major … favorite Rutgers memory was sweeping ranked Nebraska on the road … plans to get a job in construction management.
Ben Wereski: Pitched in 44 games with 38 starts … totaled 200.2 innings with 176 strikeouts and 14 wins … working on Master's degree in supply chain management … favorite Rutgers memory was meeting so many new teammates and friends … plans to play pro ball in the future.
Aaron Winkler: Pitched in 54 games with 22 starts … totaled 126.2 innings with 115 strikeouts … enrolled in the Global Sports Business Master's program … favorite Rutgers memories were taking the series at Michigan and sweeping Nebraska on the road … plans to complete Master's degree next year.
The Scarlet Knights dropped the rubber game to Michigan State on Sunday after winning 15-8 on Saturday. RU plated nine runs with two outs in the victory, with all nine starters in the lineup scoring at least one run. It was the third time the team posted 15 or more runs in a game in 2021.
DiGeorgio had a pair of three-hit games last weekend and went 7-for-13 with five RBIs against the Spartans to extend his hitting streak to 11. Both
Chris Brito and Schiekofer notched five hits in the series and carry a 14-game on-base streak into Friday.
Hitting: Nyisztor is third in the Big Ten in batting average at .354, with Illinois' Joe Janas in first at .372. The last Scarlet Knight to win a league batting title was Vinny Zarrillo, who hit .407 in the Big East in 2013. Nyisztor is fourth in the league with a .462 on-base percentage, collecting a team-high 14 multiple-hit games, and is the toughest hitter in the conference to strike out at once per 9.3 plate appearances.
Brito is fourth in the Big Ten with 42 RBIs, an average of over one per game. That feat was last done by an RU player for a season by Pat Biserta in 2010. Brito, who is the only one to start all 41 games so far, also leads the offense with 30 runs scored, a .528 on-base percentage and 85 total bases. Schiekofer matches Brito with 50 hits, while
Ryan Lasko and Brito each have drawn 21 walks.
RU has blasted 46 homers, the most since 2010 and ninth-most in a season in program history. Lasko leads the lineup with 11 long balls, leading Big Ten freshmen and fifth overall. He is the first Scarlet Knight to reach double figures since Patrick Kivlehan (14) in 2012 and first freshman with 11 since Jeff Frazier (13) in 2002.
Pitching: Rutkowski is set to make his 30
th start to open a weekend and 14
th overall at Bainton Field. The left-hander has six quality starts and five outings of at least seven innings in 2021 to rank second in the Big Ten at 74 innings. His only other start versus Illinois came as a freshman in Champaign in 2018, allowing just two runs over six innings with six strikeouts.
Teller picked up a win in relief last Saturday, dealing 3.1 innings. The right-hander has held opposing batters to a .237 average this year. Wereski leads the Big Ten with a 0.96 WHIP, only 1.29 walks allowed per nine innings and a 5.30:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, ranking ninth with only 7.33 hits allowed per nine innings. The left-hander has seven quality starts, five with one earned run or less against and six without allowing a walk.
The bullpen has six different pitchers who have combined for 12 saves, tied for seventh-most in a season in program history.
Dale Stanavich has 24 strikeouts in 21 innings, while Muller has worked in a team-high 19 games.
Nate McLain joins Stanavich with three saves.
Overall, the pitching staff ranks second in the league with only 3.40 walks allowed per nine innings, while sitting fourth in the Big Ten with a 1.38 WHIP. The group has racked up 310 strikeouts, 17 shy of cracking the team top-10 season charts.
Rutgers is 2-7 versus Illinois in Big Ten games and 2-8 all-time dating back to the first meeting in 1989. The Fighting Illini took all three in a 2018 series in Champaign, but the Scarlet Knights won 2-of-3 in the prior matchups at Bainton Field in 2017. That included scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to claim an
8-7 win in the rubber game.
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