WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Rutgers baseball is set for an eight-game road trip, beginning with a midweek road contest down the shore against Monmouth.
The Scarlet Knights (20-16, 4-5 Big Ten) are coming off a series win at home over Michigan and have won five of their last six. The Hawks (12-19, 3-13 CAA) have lost four straight, including a home sweep at the hands of Charleston.
Game Info
Series History
Rutgers leads the all-time series against Monmouth, holding a 33-9 advantage. RU has won six in a row dating back to 2017, including a 9-4 victory in Piscataway last season.
In the Box
The Scarlet Knights boast a balanced offensive attack, batting .302 as a team, with five regular starters batting over .300. Additionally, seven different players on the roster have at least 24 RBIs on the season.
True freshman
Trevor Cohen leads the team with a .351 average and 52 hits and has started all 36 games in the outfield.
Evan Sleight joins Cohen as an everyday starter in the outfield and is second on the team with a .346 average, while leading RU with nine home runs and a 1.099 OPS.
Rounding out the outfield in
Ryan Lasko, who is third on the team with a .327 average. He has eight home runs and 11 doubles on the season, while leading the Scarlet Knights with 34 RBI and 37 runs scored.
The middle infield for Rutgers also features a pair of .300 hitters in shortstop
Josh Kuroda-Grauer and second baseman
Cameron Love.
After an All-Big Ten season as a true freshman, Kuroda-Grauer has significantly upped his power numbers, with his 14 extra-base hits (7 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs) already eclipsing his total from a year ago.
Love has started the last 33 games at second base and had a 1.000 fielding percentage through 31 games. He also boasts a .317 average and 25 RBI.
On the Mound
Rutgers has enjoyed strong outings from its pitching staff in midweek games, where RU is 9-0 this season.
Justin Sinibaldi has started five of those contests and has a record of 4-0 with a 1.30 ERA, having allowed just four earned runs in 27.2 innings with 22 strikeouts and just eight walks.
Sam Portnoy (9.0 IP) and
Joe Mazza (7.0 IP) have combined for 16.0 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in midweek games, posting 13 combined strikeouts and allowing just six hits.
As a whole, the pitching staff has posted a 2.89 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 81 innings in midweeks, yielding a .217 batting average against.
