ANN ARBOR, Mich. (May 21, 2022) – The No. 25 Rutgers baseball team finished the regular season on a high note, taking down Michigan by a score of 18-12 in the series finale to wrap up the regular season 41-14, 17-7 in Big Ten play and clinch the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament next week.

Tony Santa Maria and Nick Cimillo each hit home runs and Richie Schiekofer had his second 5-hit game of the season to lead the offense. Six different Scarlet Knight pitchers took the mound, with Sam Bello earning the win to improve to 5-2 on the season.

"This is like an elimination game when you're deep into pitching," head coach Steve Owens said. "We swung the bats really well and we kept scoring. Sam Portnoy got us off to a good start. We passed the ball along in the bullpen and kept it at bay. It wasn't a pretty game, but it was a really important game for us because we finished second in the Big Ten conference. We won 17 conference games and we have 41 regular season wins. Most importantly, our players have worked really hard. I'm proud of them. We're going to go enjoy this Omaha experience and try to win a conference tournament."

The Scarlet Knights jumped out to an early lead after Ryan Lasko led the game off with a double and scored on a sac fly by Nick Cimillo. Richie Schiekofer then doubled home Tony Santa Maria in the second to make it 2-0. 

As they have all series, the Wolverines responded quickly, posting 4 runs in the third to take a 4-2 lead. That would not phase RU, as the Scarlet Knights immediately posted a 5-spot in the top of the fourth thanks in part to a 2-run double by Josh Kuroda-Grauer and a 2-run home run by Nick Cimillo. 

While Michigan once again answered to tie the game at 7-7, Santa Maria would score on a wild pitch in the fifth to put Rutgers up 8-7, a lead it would not relinquish. 

Schiekofer's fourth home run of the season, a 2-run shot in the seventh, made it 10-7 and gave RU some breathing room.

Santa Maria then blew the game wide open with a 3-run bomb over the left field wall to make it 14-8 and erase all doubt. The Scarlet Knights would post 4 runs in each the eighth and ninth innings to take a commanding 18-9 lead and ultimately win 18-2. With its 41st win of the season, the team broke the program record for regular season wins, which was 40 and previously set by the 2001 team. 

With the win, Rutgers has clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The two remaining scenarios for RU is a tie with Illinois at 17-7 in the standings, in which Rutgers has the tiebreaker based on record against common Big Ten opponents. If Iowa beats Indiana later tonight, there will be a three-way tie between Rutgers, Iowa and Illinois in which Rutgers would win due to a 6-0 record against the two common opponents (Indiana and Nebraska) that they have with the other two schools. 

The first game of the Big Ten Tournament for Rutgers will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST against the No. 7 seed, which is to be determined. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.   
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