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Rutgers University Athletics

Scoreboard

Big Ten Conference
Tony Santa Maria
Thomas Shea
10
Winner Rutgers RU 3-0
5
Houston Baptist HBU 0-3
Winner
Rutgers RU
3-0
10
Final
5
Houston Baptist HBU
0-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Rutgers RU 0 0 1 3 1 1 2 2 0 10 11 0
Houston Baptist HBU 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 5 10 3

W: Sinibaldi, Justin (1-0) L: Burch, Jared (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Completes Sweep at Houston Baptist

Scarlet Knights post 32 runs on the weekend

HOUSTON – Scoring in six consecutive innings, Rutgers baseball (3-0) topped Houston Baptist (0-3), 10-5, to complete a three-game road sweep Sunday at Husky Field. The Scarlet Knights, 3-0 for the first time since 2006, put up 32 runs in the series and surrendered only eight.
 
"It's hard to win three games in a row at any level," head coach Steve Owens said. "Houston Baptist played their best game today and I'm very happy we found a way, a good start to the season."
 
Tony Santa Maria sparked the offense with three doubles, four RBIs and a walk. The infielder finished the weekend with eight knocked in. Richie Schiekofer, Danny DiGeorgio and Evan Sleight also had multiple-hit performances in the 11-hit attack, while Nick Cimillo drew three walks.
 
"It wasn't our best day offensively, but several guys stepped up," Owens said. "Tony came up in key spots at the bottom of the lineup and showed that he can be an elite hitter."
 
Nathan Florence made his first RU start on the mound and permitted just one run in three innings, striking out four. Justin Sinibaldi followed up retiring 6-of-7 faced in relief. Next out of the bullpen, Garrett French logged 1.2 innings in his first appearance since May 18, 2019. Sam Portnoy made his collegiate debut recording the last out of the seventh before Nate McLain struck out three in the eighth and Dale Stanavich dealt a perfect ninth.
 
"Our pitchers were effective," Owens said. "We will get more length from Nate and the starters as the season goes. We weren't perfect, but competed as a staff."
 
The Scarlet Knights did not commit an error on defense and were charged with only one in the series.
 
"Most importantly for the weekend, our defense was outstanding," Owens said. "That's been a focus of ours. If you don't pitch or hit well, you can play good defense and give yourself a chance."


 
SCORING
  • T3 | The Scarlet Knights scored first for the second time in the series. Santa Maria legged out a leadoff double, advanced on a Mike Nyisztor grounder and scored on a sacrifice fly by Schiekofer.
  • B3 | Houston Baptist evened the game with a run on three hits. Florence prevented further trouble with a pair of strikeouts to strand two in scoring position.
  • T4 | Rutgers quickly responded with a three-run rally. DiGeorgio split the gap in left-center for a leadoff triple and crossed on a single by Ryan Lasko. Cimillo followed drawing a walk, scoring on a two-out, two-run double by Santa Maria to make it 4-1.
  • T5 | Schiekofer led off with a single and later came home on a bunt by Lasko.
  • B5 | Jake Miller hit the first homer of the series for HBU to cut it to 5-2.
  • T6 | Rutgers tacked on another when Santa Maria reached via error and advanced three times on a wild pitch.
  • T7 | RU scored for the fifth-straight inning to increase the advantage to 8-2. Sleight led off with a single and scored on a passed ball. With two down, Chris Brito picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded walk.
  • B7 | The Huskies cut it to 8-4 with two runs with two outs.
  • T8 | Cimillo and Sleight both walked and scored on a two-out, two-run double by Santa Maria.
  • B8 | Reed Chumley hit a solo homer for the home team.
 
NOTES
  • Rutgers last swept a three-game series to start a season in 2005 at William & Mary. The 2006 campaign began with two wins at William & Mary and one at Old Dominion.
  • Rutgers totaled 43 hits in the series with at least 11 each game. The last time starting a season with double-digit hits in three-straight games was in 2000 in a series at NC State.
  • Schiekofer totaled a team-high eight hits in the series, while Cimillo posted a .714 on-base percentage on five hits and five walks.
  • The Scarlet Knights recorded 13 two-out RBIs in the series.
 
UP NEXT

Rutgers returns to the road to take part in the Carolinas Coastline Classic. That begins Friday, Feb. 25 at Coastal Carolina (ESPN+) before heading to UNC Wilmington (FloSports) for a Saturday matchup. The weekend concludes back at Coastal Carolina Sunday in a neutral contest versus Middle Tennessee.
 
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.
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