PHILADELPHIA – Rutgers baseball won an 11-inning thriller over Penn on Tuesday, rallying from a 2-1 deficit in the eighth and taking the lead in the 11th for the victory. The Scarlet Knights (7-9) used strong pitching from a quartet of freshman and timely offense to take down the Quakers (1-9).
The game was a pitchers' battle early, with both teams held off the scoreboard in the first three innings. Jack Kirchner started for RU and went 3.2 scoreless innings, yielding just two hits and striking out a career-high five batters in the process.
After Kirchner's third scoreless inning, the Rutgers offense got on the board in the top of the fourth. With runners on the corners and two outs, JT Thompson rolled a single through the right side to score Peyton Bonds and make it 1-0.
Penn was able to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth, scoring a pair on an infield single and sac fly to make it 2-1.
The Scarlet Knights were kept off the board in the middle innings, but freshman Nolan Peel was able to keep them in the game with a strong pitching performance. The true freshman got the final three outs of the sixth and went on to throw three scoreless innings, giving up three hits and one walk, striking out one.
With the game tied in the ninth, Andrew Rondini tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to send the game to extras. After RU was held off the board in the top of the 10th, Rondini struck out two more in a scoreless 10th.
Thompson walked with one out in the 11th and Rutgers put runners on the corners when Pablo Santos singled him to third. JD Jones then dropped down a safety squeeze bunt to score Thompson and give RU a 3-2 lead.
Rondini came back out for the 11th and worked around a one-out single to finish off the victory.
Rutgers returns to action Wednesday afternoon with a 3 p.m. tilt against Wagner at Bainton Field.
Notes
Career Highs
- Jack Kirchner: Innings Pitched (3.2), Strikeouts (5), Batters Faced (16)
- Nolan Peel: Innings Pitched (3.0), Batters Faced (13)
- Andrew Rondini: Innings Pitched (3.0), Strikeouts (3), Batters Faced (11)
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