PISCATAWAY, N.J. (March 29, 2022) – The Rutgers baseball team continued its winning ways on Tuesday afternoon, picking up an 11-1 victory over in-state foe NJIT at Bainton Field.
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Five Scarlet Knight pitchers combined to allow just 1 run on five hits, with the trio of
Justin Sinibaldi (5),
Kyle Muller (4) and
Nate McLain (3) combining for 12 strikeouts in 7.1 scoreless innings. Muller would earn the win and improve to 2-0 on the season.
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"Justin got us off to a good start and then
Kyle Muller was good. He gave us a little length." head coach
Steve Owens said of the pitching. "Nate did a really good job in the last three innings. He threw a lot of strikes."
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Offensively,
Tony Santa Maria and
Chris Brito each hit solo home runs in the second inning to get RU on the board. The Scarlet Knights would add 3 more runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to put the game out of reach for the visiting Highlanders.
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Ryan Lasko continued to stay hot in the leadoff spot, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. He has multiple hits in his last four games since he was bumped up to the top spot in the batting order.
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The top hitter in the Big Ten,
Nick Cimillo, raised his average even higher to .442 with a 2-for-4 performance that included an RBI double in the fifth.
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With Cimillo getting the start at DH,
Andy Axelson earned the start at catch and made the most of his opportunity. With the bat, Axelson reached base twice with a walk and a double. He finished the day 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Behind the dish, Axelson threw out a runner stealing to end the top of the fifth and on NJIT's lone scoring play, he threw out a runner trying to advance from first to third.
"Andy did a good job. When he's had an opportunity to play, he's caught very well," Owens said. "There's a lot of value in having a good backstop back there where you can rest a guy that is hitting like Cimillo. He did a good job today. He had an RBI double, threw a guy out and handled the ball well."
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Rutgers has a quick turnaround, with Saint Peter's visiting Bainton Field tomorrow for a 3:00 p.m. showdown. It will be the second of six straight home games Rutgers will have after playing its last 11 games on the road.
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"Having people come here is an advantage. It always is," Owens said. "We're looking forward to a nice homestand this whole weekend and next Tuesday. We're really excited to be playing at home and keep winning."
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- B2 | Tony Santa Maria clubs a solo home run (5) to left-center field. RU 1-0
- B2 | Chris Brito hits a solo home run (3) to the same spot in left-center field. RU 2-0
- B5 | With runners on second and third, Richie Schiekofer hits a ball through the legs of the NJIT first baseman to score both runners. RU 4-0
- B5 | Nick Cimillo hits a ball off the walk in the left-center field to score Schiekofer. RU 5-0
- B6 | After being hit by a pitch, Danny DiGeorgio steals second and third base before scoring on a Tony Santa Maria infield single. RU 6-0
- B6 | Andy Axelson doubles into the left field corner to score Santa Maria. RU 7-0
- B6 | Chris Brito scored on a Ryan Lasko RBI groundout. RU 8-0
- T7 | With runners on first and second, David Marcano singles through the left side to score Luke Longo. RU 8-1
- B8 | With the bases loaded, a wild pitch allows Danny DiGeorgio to score from third. RU 9-1
- B8 | Garrett Callaghan grounds out to the pitcher, bringing home Mike Nyisztor from third. RU 10-0
- B8 | Another wild pitch scores Jordan Sweeney from third base. RU 11-1
The Scarlet Knights host Saint Peter's on Wednesday in midweek action at Bainton Field.
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