PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball will play its final home series of the season this weekend when it hosts Illinois. Friday and Saturday's games will take place at Bainton Field, while Sunday's finale will be played at ShoreTown Ballpark in Lakewood due to University commencement.
The Fighting Illini are 22-22 overall and 11-10 in the Big Ten, having most recently swept Michigan State at home.
The Scarlet Knights are 30-18 overall and 11-7 in the Big Ten. RU just swept Penn State at home and has won 15 of its last 18 games.
The Scarlet Knights will start RHP Christian Coppola on Friday and RHP Drew Conover on Saturday, with Sunday's starter to be determined.
The first two games of the series will be streamed on B1G+, with Dom Savino (PxP) and Joe Godri (Analyst) on the call Friday. Dom Savino (PxP) and David Palumbo (Analyst) will call the action on Saturday. There will be no stream on Sunday.
Fans can also follow along on Twitter for live updates. Live stats will be available for all three games.
Promotions
- Friday: Vs. Cancer/Breast Cancer Awareness Day
- A breast cancer survivor will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch
- During the game, Rutgers baseball will be celebrating survivors and bringing awareness to the cause
- Saturday: Senior Day
- The program will honor its graduating seniors with a pregame ceremony at approximately 5:35 p.m.
Series History
Illinois holds a 9-4 advantage all-time against Rutgers, including an 8-4 mark in Big Ten play. The last meeting between the teams was in 2021, with RU taking two-of-three at Bainton Field.
In the Rankings
The Scarlet Knights lead the Big Ten in a number of key situational stats.
Their 48 doubles plays turned on defense are the best in the conference and the fourth-most in the country. The team's 37 sacrifice bunts are also best in the Big Ten and rank 14th nationally, while their 35 sacrifice flies are the most in the Big Ten and the fourth-most sac flies in the country.
Additionally, RU's four shutouts on the mound are the most in the conference.
Outfield: The Catalysts
The starting outfield for RU also makes up three of the top hitters in the lineup.
Ryan Lasko (.345), Evan Sleight (.314) and Trevor Cohen (.301) have been the starting outfield for all 48 games and combine to hit .320 as a unit.
Lasko leads the team with his 68 hits, 52 runs, 16 doubles, 47 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and is tied for the team lead with 11 home runs.
In conference games, Lasko leads the Big Ten lead with 33 hits, while ranking third with a .434 average.
Sleight's 25 extra-base hits are second to only Lasko and his 11 home runs are tied with Lasko and Chris Brito for the most on the Scarlet Knights. A true freshman, Cohen is the second-toughest batter to strike out in the conference, striking out once every 10.2 at bats.
Brito: Rewriting the Record Books
Chris Brito has put together one of the most prolific offensive careers in Rutgers baseball history. He recorded his 200th career hit at Northwestern earlier this season -- an RBI double.
Last week against Penn State, Brito hit his 43rd career home run, breaking Todd Frazier's program record of 42.
Brito also has 190 career RBIs, making him just one shy of the program record of 191, shared by Pete Zoccolillo and Jake Daubert.
JKG: Mr. Every Day
Josh Kuroda-Grauer has been a model of consistency in his new role as starting shortstop. Kuroda-Grauer has started all 48 games for RU, is hitting .307, has 22 extra-base hits and has drawn 25 walks to just 20 strikeouts. He was recently named to the watchlist for the Brooks Wallace Award, given annually to the top shortstop in the country.
Starting Rotation: B1G Time
Rutgers has made a number of changes to the starting rotation in Big Ten play, which have already paid dividends.
Prior to April 14 against Michigan, no RU starter had pitched seven innings and RHP Christian Coppola had yet to throw a pitch past the fifth inning.
He has now thrown at least six innings in three of his last four starts and was just named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his seven-inning, 13-strikeout gem against Penn State.
In his last four starts, RHP Drew Conover has three outing where he has pitched seven innings and allowed one or fewer runs.
Gorski: Nails Out of the 'Pen
Junior RHP Ben Gorski is having a breakout season in the bullpen for the Scarlet Knights. Gorski has six saves and leads the team with a 1.59 ERA across 34.0 innings. He has allowed a miniscule .153 batting average against and has only given up two extra-base hits to the 139 batters he has faced.
