PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball returns home for a pair of midweek games against in-state rival Seton Hall on Tuesday and Marist on Wednesday.
Tuesday's game against the Pirates (15-14, 2-1 Big East) is set for a 4 p.m. first pitch and will be broadcast on B1G+ with Cory Pontarollo and Jordan Ozer on the call.
Wednesday's contest against the Red Foxes (5-24, 1-5 MAAC), set for a 6 p.m. first pitch, will be the first night game in the history of Bainton Field. Dom Savino and Chris Tsakonas will call the action for B1G+.
Game Info
Series History
Rutgers trails the all-time series against Seton Hall, with the Pirates holding a 58-53-1 advantage. SHU has won the last three contests dating back to 2017, including an 11-2 win last season in South Orange.
The Scarlet Knights and Red Foxes have played just once before, a 6-4 neutral-site RU victory in 1999.
In the Box
Evan Sleight leads the charge for RU offensively, boasting a team-best .368 average and eight home runs to go along with 21 RBIs and a 1.131 OPS.
The Scarlet Knights bat .301 as a team and Sleight is one of four regulars batting over .300,
joined by
Trevor Cohen (.346),
Cameron Love (.317) and
Ryan Lasko (.315).
Lasko has come alive the past few weeks, raising his batting average from .244 to .315 over the last three weekends. He hit a pair of home runs last weekend at Maryland, raising his season total to seven to go along with 26 RBIs.
Josh Kuroda-Grauer has been a consistent presence in the RU lineup, starting all 31 games at shortstop and batting .298 with an .854 OPS. He has a home run in each of the last two Big Ten weekends against Michigan State and Maryland and his three triples lead the conference.
Cameron Love has emerged as the everyday second baseman, starting there each of the last 28 games. His .317 average is third-best on the team, as are his eight doubles. Love has been an elite defender, boasting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over 102 chances at second.
On the Mound
Rutgers has enjoyed strong outings from its pitching staff in midweek games, where RU is 7-0 this season.
Justin Sinibaldi has started four of those contests and has a record of 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA, having allowed just four earned runs in 22.2 innings with 19 strikeouts and just six walks.
Sam Portnoy (5.1 IP) and
Joe Mazza (6.0 IP) have combined for 11.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in midweek games, posting 10 combined strikeouts and allowing just three hits.
As a whole, the pitching staff has posted a 3.29 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 63 innings in midweeks, yielding a .204 batting average against.
