LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Rutgers baseball shut out Illinois and won the weekend series with a 3-0 victory at ShoreTown Ballpark in Lakewood on Sunday afternoon.
The Scarlet Knights (32-19, 13-8) struck out 13 batters and picked up another 12 hits to defeat the Fighting Illini (23-24, 12-12) in the weekend rubber match.
Making his first appearance since April 18,
Justin Sinibaldi gave Rutgers a huge lift on the mound. Sinibaldi pitched 5.0 shutout innings, yielding four hits while striking out seven with four walks. His seven strikeouts tied a career high and are the most he's had in a Big Ten game.
With Sinibaldi dominating on the mound, the RU bats went to work in the third.
Ryan Lasko and
Chris Brito each singled to lead off the frame and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch.
Evan Sleight drove in Lasko with an RBI groundout and
Hugh Pinkney singled in Brito to make it 2-0.
Jake Marshall relieved Sinibaldi and provided three strong innings. Marshall allowed no runs on just two hits, while striking out five batters with no walks.
In the bottom of the eighth, Brito gave the Scarlet Knights an important insurance run with a solo home run to dead center field, making it a 3-0 game.
Ben Gorski got the ball for the ninth and picked up a strikeout in a 1-2-3 frame, securing his eighth save of the season.
Rutgers secured its fourth Big Ten series win of the season and has won its last three home series in conference play.
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