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2021 Rutgers Baseball
Steve Hockstein

Baseball

2021 Baseball Review

Scarlet Knights finished 21-23 to earn their best placement and winning percentage in Big Ten play since joining the conference

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Playing a 44-game schedule all within the Big Ten, Rutgers baseball made strides across the board in 2021. The Scarlet Knights finished 21-23 to earn their best placement (eighth) and winning percentage (.477) in Big Ten play since joining the conference.

“The guys were excited to play after almost a year off,” head coach Steve Owens said. “I feel that we made a lot of progress as a program in a lot of areas. The players worked hard, got better and competed at a high level.”

Steve Owens at Rutgers
Head coach Steve Owens completed his 30th season as a head coach with 941 career victories
STATISTICS
RESULTS
ROSTER
UPDATED RECORD BOOK

TEAM NOTES

  • Went 6-4-1 in series of at least three games
  • Posted a 7-5 record against the three Big Ten teams that qualified for NCAA Regionals (Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska)
  • Notched 13 of the 21 wins against teams in the top seven in the Big Ten standings
  • Tied for first in the Big Ten with 13 road wins after recording an 11-47 away record in the previous five seasons in the conference, also securing first winning road record in a season for the program since 2007
  • Recorded a win over all Big Ten opponents
  • Went 4-1 in rubber games to decide a series
Brent Teller
Andy Axelson & Brent Teller
  • Snapped a 16-game losing streak against ranked Big Ten opponents on the road by winning five-straight
  • Swept a ranked team for the first time since 2006
  • Swept a Big Ten team on the road for the first time since joining the conference, becoming the first Big Ten opponent to sweep at Nebraska and first conference opponent overall since 2009
  • Only Big Ten team to win a weekend series over league champion Nebraska
  • Won games at Michigan, Northwestern and Nebraska for the first time in program history
  • Won Big Ten series over Michigan, Northwestern and Ohio State for the first time
Richie Schiekofer
Richie Schiekofer
  • Went 8-4 in one-run games, 8-1 when holding an opponent to two runs or less and 17-3 when outhitting the opposition
  • Won four games when trailing after seven innings to match the number the previous four seasons combined
  • Won on Opening Day for the first time since 2008 and started 2-0 for the first time since 2006
  • Through 24 games, a standard Big Ten season, set Big Ten team season records in wins (12), runs (141), homers (35), total bases (356), slugging percentage (.430), on-base percentage (.353), strikeouts recorded (196), least walks allowed (72), batting average against (.254) and saves (7)
Evan Sleight
Evan Sleight after hitting a grand slam

HONORS

  • Ryan Lasko earned Freshman All-America status from Collegiate Baseball to garner the first All-America honor for a Scarlet Knight in the Big Ten era, also claiming a spot on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team
  • Chris Brito merited a spot on the All-Big Ten Third Team and picked up a National Player of the Week honor on March 15 from Collegiate Baseball after going 9-for-18 with four homers, nine RBIs and a 1.278 slugging percentage in four-game series at Maryland
  • Collected seven Big Ten weekly awards to match the number garnered the previous six years in the conference combined, including six freshman of the week honors for the most by a Big Ten team since 2013
Ryan Lasko
Ryan Lasko
2021 Rutgers Big Ten Weekly Awards
  • Kyle Muller was a recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for distinguished sportsmanship, ethical behavior and good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting
  • Led by Muller’s 4.0 GPA, 12 garnered Academic All-Big Ten status
    • Andy Axelson, Sport Management (2nd)
    • Jared Bellissimo, Sport Management (2nd)
    • Tim Dezzi, Sport Management
    • Garrett French, Criminal Justice (2nd)
    • Kyle Muller, Sport Management (2nd)
    • Sam Owens, Human Resource Management
    • Harry Rutkowski, Criminal Justice (3rd)
    • Parker Scott, Mechanical Engineering (2nd)
    • Peter Serruto, Pre Business (2nd)
    • Grant Shulman, Pre Business
    • Jordan Sweeney, Sport Management
    • Victor Valderrama, Sport Management (2nd)
  • Recognized as the men’s team with the most improved GPA at the RAwards
Kyle Muller
Kyle Muller

HITTING

  • Clubbed 48 homers, tied for sixth-most in a season in program history and most since 2010
  • Needed just seven games to shatter the previous mark of 12 homers in a season against Big Ten competition
  • Had two players reach double-digit homers in the same season for the first time since 2010 (Ryan Lasko 11, Chris Brito 10)
  • Blasted six grand slams after not having one since 2016 coming into the year
  • Scored at least 15 runs in a game three times, including a team Big Ten record 16 at Minnesota
Chris Brito
Chris Brito
  • Ryan Lasko led Big Ten freshmen and finished fifth overall following the regular season with 11 homers, becoming the first Rutgers player to reach double-digit homers in a season since Patrick Kivlehan (14) in 2012 and the first RU freshman to hit 11 homers since Jeff Frazier (13) in 2002
  • Mike Nyisztor placed fourth in the Big Ten in batting average (.351), fifth in on-base percentage (.456) and finished as the toughest hitter in the Big Ten to strike out (once per 9.6 plate appearances)
  • Chris Brito was the only Scarlet Knight to play all 44 games, reaching base safely in 40 games, ranking fourth in the Big Ten with 43 RBIs and also leading the team with a .923 OPS, 33 runs scored, 89 total bases, a .527 slugging percentage, a .365 average (19-for-52) with runners in scoring position, 23 walks drawn and 203 plate appearances
  • Richie Schiekofer led the offense with 54 hits, 12 doubles, five sacrifice bunts and 12 times hit by pitch, hitting .390 with a .467 on-base percentage over the last 27 games
  • Danny DiGeorgio matched Schiekofer with six stolen bases, put together a team-best 12-game hitting streak and led the defense with 86 assists
Mike Nyisztor
Mike Nyisztor

PITCHING

  • Pitched three shutouts, most since 2016, including first road shutouts in Big Ten play
  • Picked up 14 saves, tied for third-most in a season in program history, with six different pitchers notching at least one
  • Racked up 328 strikeouts on the mound to rank 10th in a season in school history
  • Placed second in the Big Ten with only 3.46 walks allowed per nine innings, with 150 total to rank eighth-least in a season in school history
Ben Wereski
Ben Wereski
  • Harry Rutkowski, who started the opener of each weekend on the mound, became just the fifth pitcher in program history to reach 200 career strikeouts and ranks tied for third in program history with 44 career starts, third with 221 strikeouts and 10th with 249.2 innings pitched
    • Ranked second in the Big Ten following the regular season with 81 innings pitched in leading the team in innings for the third-straight season and in strikeouts (70) for the third time in four years
  • Ben Wereski led the Big Ten with a 0.99 WHIP, only 1.3 walks allowed per nine innings and second with a 5.09:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, logging eight quality starts, five with one earned run or less against, six without allowing a walk and six with five or more strikeouts to finish with a 3.67 ERA
  • Brent Teller had three starts of at least seven innings and seven allowing three or fewer earned runs, holding opponents to a .185 batting average with two outs and inducing a team-high seven double plays
  • Dale Stanavich led the team and ranked sixth in the Big Ten following the regular season with five saves, recording a staff-best 3.13 ERA and 11.74 strikeout per nine innings
  • Kyle Muller worked to a 1.11 WHIP with 13 scoreless outings and a .207 batting average against
  • Nate McLain led the bullpen with 24.2 innings pitched
  • Eric Reardon finished his career ranked tied for sixth in program history with 77 appearances
Harry Rutkowski
Harry Rutkowski

SENIOR DAY

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