PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball's Ben Wereski signed a professional contract with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association on Tuesday. The left-handed pitcher led the Big Ten in WHIP last season while recording eight quality starts.
 
"Ben was extremely prepared each week and executed his game plan at a very high level," head coach Steve Owens said. "He made our team better both on and off the field. His teammates and coaches wish him continued success in professional baseball!"
 
Joining the Scarlet Knights as a graduate transfer, Wereski started all 13 weekends on the mound. He paced the league with a 0.99 WHIP, only 1.3 walks allowed per nine innings and placed second with a 5.09:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The New York native registered five outings 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.
 
RU went 8-5 in Wereski's starts, with him earning six wins for the most by a Scarlet Knight since 2016. Totaling 56 strikeouts, he worked 76 innings, ninth in the league, with only 64 hits and 11 walks against. Wereski held opponents to a .256 batting average against.
 
After working seven scoreless versus Ohio State, Wereski followed with 7.1 shutout innings at Purdue. His longest start of 7.2 innings with one run allowed beat then-No. 17 Michigan on the road. Wereski left with lead after dealing seven shutout innings versus No. 17 Indiana (5/8) with just one baserunner, a walk, allowed through six innings and a season-low two hits surrendered overall. That included escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam unscathed.
 
Overall, Wereski pitched in 45 games with 39 starts at the collegiate level, logging 206.2 innings with 179 strikeouts and 15 wins.
 
Wereski becomes the third member of the RU starting rotation to sign a professional contract, joining Harry Rutkowski (Toronto Blue Jays) and Brent Teller (Lancaster Barnstormers).
 
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.