MINNEAPOLIS – Rutgers baseball wraps up the regular season this weekend with a trip to Minneapolis for three games against Minnesota. It will mark the first time RU will play a three-game series at UM's Siebert Field.
The Golden Gophers are 16-33 overall and 8-13 in the Big Ten. They most recently dropped two-of-three at first-place Maryland.
The Scarlet Knights are 32-19 overall and 13-8 in the Big Ten. RU has won back-to-back series after taking two-of-three from Illinois this past weekend.
Rutgers has clinched a spot in this season's Big Ten Tournament and will know its seed after the weekend.
RU can potentially finish anywhere from first through eighth place in the conference.
The Scarlet Knights will start RHP Christian Coppola on Friday and RHP Drew Conover on Saturday, with Sunday's starter to be determined.
All three games of the series will be streamed on B1G+.
Fans can also follow along on Twitter for live updates. Live stats will be available for all three games.
Series History
The all-time series between Rutgers and Minnesota is tied 9-9 overall and 6-6 in Big Ten games. The last meeting between the teams was in 2022, with RU sweeping UM at Bainton Field.
In the Rankings
The Scarlet Knights lead the Big Ten in a number of key situational stats.
Their 50 doubles plays turned on defense are the best in the conference and the fifth-most in the country. The team's 39 sacrifice bunts are also best in the Big Ten and rank 15th nationally, while their 36 sacrifice flies are the most in the Big Ten and the fifth-most sac flies in the country.
Additionally, RU's five shutouts on the mound are the most in the conference and the 12th-most in the country.
Outfield: The Catalysts
The starting outfield for RU also makes up three of the top hitters in the lineup.
Ryan Lasko (.349), Evan Sleight (.305) and Trevor Cohen (.289) have been the starting outfield for all 51 games and combine to hit .315 as a unit.
Lasko leads the team with his 73 hits, 55 runs, 18 doubles, 15 stolen bases and is tied for the team lead with 50 RBIs.
In conference games, Lasko is tied for the Big Ten lead with 38 hits. Additionally, his .432 average is the highest among players with more than 14 games played.
Sleight's 25 extra-base hits are second to only Lasko and his 11 home runs are tied for the second-most on the Scarlet Knights.
A true freshman, Cohen is the second-toughest batter to strike out in the conference, striking out once every 10.0 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.
Against Penn State, Brito hit his 43rd career home run, breaking Todd Frazier's program record of 42.
Against Illinois, Brito recorded his 192nd career RBI, breaking the program record of 191, which was 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 51 games for RU, is hitting .301, has 22 extra-base hits and has drawn 25 walks to just 23 strikeouts. He was recently named a semifinalist 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 four of his last five starts and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his seven-inning, 13-strikeout gem against Penn State two weeks ago.
In his last five 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 is tied for the Big Ten lead with eight saves and leads the team with a 1.95 ERA across 37.0 innings. He has allowed a miniscule .149 batting average against and has only given up three extra-base hits to the 150 batters he has faced.
