MINNEAPOLIS – Rutgers baseball wrapped up the regular season on a high note, defeating Minnesota by a score of 14-6 on Saturday afternoon at Siebert Field in Minneapolis.
The Scarlet Knights (33-21, 14-10) used an eight-run sixth inning to take control against the Golden Gophers (18-34,10-14) and wrap up the weekend series and regular season in the win column.
Once again, the RU offense set the tone in the first inning. After
Ryan Lasko reached on an error,
Chris Brito launched his team-leading 14th home run to give Rutgers a 2-0 lead.
Justin Sinibaldi then went to work in his second straight weekend start. After allowing a run in the first, he threw three straight scoreless frames before exiting in the fifth. He completed his day with four-plus innings, giving up just one run on two hits, while striking out three and walking one.
Jake Marshall relieved him with two runners on in the fifth. After walking his first batter to load the bases with no outs, Marshall recorded three straight strikeouts to end the inning. Marshall pitched three innings of relief, giving up four runs on four hits, striking out seven and walking two.
In the top of the fourth,
Cameron Love extended the lead to 3-1 with an RBI single up the middle.
The Scarlet Knights exploded for eight runs in the sixth, all with two outs and putting the game out of reach.
Love started the rally when he lined a two-run homer to left-center, scoring
Hugh Pinkney and making it 5-1. The Golden Gophers then issued six straight free passes, hitting three batters and walking another three, to help RU add three more runs and push the score to 8-1. Pinkney delivered the big blow in his second plate appearance of the inning, crushing a three-run double to the deepest part of the park, extending the lead to 11-1.
Trevor Cohen got in on the action in the seventh, lifting his first career home run to right field, a two-run shot that scored
Jordan Sweeney and made it 13-4. Brito doubled home another run in the seventh to make it 14-4.
While Minnesota added a couple more runs towards the end,
Wyatt Parliament finished off the victory with two innings of one-run ball, striking out three batters with no walks.
Rutgers now shifts its focus to the Big Ten Tournament at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. The Scarlet Knights earned the five seed and take on No. 4 Nebraska at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday afternoon on the Big Ten Network.
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