PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball defeated Michigan 6-3 on Sunday afternoon, clinching the weekend series at Bainton Field.
The Scarlet Knights (20-16, 4-5) used seven shutout innings from
Drew Conover and timely hitting to down the Wolverines (19-16, 7-5) in the rubber game of the series.
After the teams traded zeroes in the first two innings,
Trevor Cohen got RU on the board in the third with an RBI single to score
Andy Axelson.
Rutgers hung a crooked number to seize control of the game in the fourth. After showing bunt,
Cameron Love placed an RBI single through the vacated left side to score
Chris Brito.
Josh Kuroda-Grauer (fielder's choice),
Trevor Cohen (single) and
Ryan Lasko (single) all drove in a run of their own to make it 5-0.
With runners on the corners in the fifth,
Jordan Sweeney hit a sac fly to score Brito and make it 6-0.
On the mound,
Drew Conover escaped traffic in the first inning before settling in and dominating the Michigan lineup. With the bases loaded in the first, Conover induced a double-play ball to get out of the frame. He worked around a hit-by-pitch in the second for a scoreless inning and then struck out the side -- all looking -- in the third. He continued to post zeroes and keep his pitch count down, allowing himself to throw a career-high seven innings.
Conover finished with seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out six Wolverines to earn the win.
Sam Portnoy relieved him for the eighth and finished the game, giving up three runs and striking out two to wrap up the victory.
Rutgers will now embark on an eight-game road trip, starting with a 3 p.m. midweek game at Monmouth on Tuesday.
Follow Rutgers Baseball on Social Media
