Diamonds and Tennis and Lax, oh my!

Baseball

What had been a frustrating season finished on a positive note for the Scarlet nine.  Facing the second best team in the conference, and the 13^th best in the country, the Knights took two of three from Iowa to win their third conference series of the year

Propelled by the pitching performances of senior Jon Young and junior Mark McCoy Rutgers topped No. 13 Iowa (38-14, 19-5), 3-2, to take the series Saturday at Bainton Field.

Factoring in the 5-3 Thursday win, RU became the first team to take a series over UI all season, as the visitors had won eight straight Big Ten sets dating back to last year. Rutgers previously won weekends over Purdue and Minnesota in its first trip around the Big Ten.

Slotted into a starting role for the first time since the opening weekend in 2014, Young (3-1) came through with five quality innings in his final collegiate appearance to earn the win. The right-hander permitted two runs and struck out three in his 60^th career game. McCoy followed up and was sharp over four scoreless innings to collect his first career save. The duo let Iowa runners on every inning, but combined to strand 13 on base.

Offensively, sophomore Tom Marcinczyk delivered the big blow at the plate with a two-run double in the bottom of the third. He notched two RBIs in each of the three games of the series to end the season with a team-high 36 knocked in. Sophomore Christian Campbell (two singles), junior R.J. Devish (walk, single) and junior John Jennings (single, hit by pitch) all reached twice for RU. The Scarlet Knights made the most of opportunities with only five left on base.

Final Series Results

5/14/15	vs. Iowa *	Bainton Field	W, 5-3
5/15/15	vs. Iowa *	Bainton Field	L, 10-3
5/16/15	vs. Iowa *	Bainton Field	W, 3-2

Prior to the game, Rutgers recognized its three seniors for their contributions to the program: Joe D'Annunzio, Young and Vinny Zarrillo.

Rutgers concludes the 2015 season at 19-35-1 and 7-17 in the Big Ten, going 13-10 at Bainton Field overall.

Knight Knotes

• Vinny Zarrillo finished his career tied with Brian O'Grady for 7th in school history with 227 career hits
• Rutgers last took a series over a ranked team in March 2013 at No. 4 Louisville
• Team improved to 17-2 when leading after six innings
• It was the 10^thtime the pitchers held an opponent to two runs or less ...
• McCoy recorded his team-leading fourth pickoff of the year in the seventh inning

5/14/15	vs. Iowa *	Bainton Field	W, 5-3
5/15/15	vs. Iowa *	Bainton Field	L, 10-3
5/16/15	vs. Iowa *	Bainton Field	W, 3-2

The Big Ten Baseball Tournament

The double elimination tournament began yesterday at the home of the Minnesota Twins, Target Field. The eight-team field had five teams that faced Rutgers this season with the Knights having won only one of those series.

Team	B1G Seed	Record (B1G)	Rutgers vs.
Illinois	1	45-6-1 (21-1)	0-3
Iowa	2	38-14 (19-5)	2-1
Michigan	3	33-23 (14-10)	DNP
Maryland	4	36-20 (14-10)	DNP
Michigan St.	5	33-21 (14-10)	0-3
Indiana	6	32-20 (12-10	0-3
Ohio State	7	35-18 (13-11)	1-2
Nebraska	8	34-21 (9-14)	DNP

Illinois won its 30th Big Ten Championship and secured the No. 1 seed.

The Illini finished the Big Ten season with a 21-1 conference record and will open tournament play on Wednesday, taking on the eighth-seeded Nebraska at 6 p.m. ET on BTN. Illinois captures the top seed for the fourth time in program history after earning the No. 1 seed in 1998, 2005 and 2011.

Wednesday, May 20 Results
Game 1: No. 3 Michigan 4, No. 6 Indiana 1
Game 2: No. 2 Iowa 3, No. 7 Ohio State 2
Game 3: No. 1 Illinois, No. 8 Nebraska 2

Game 4: No. 4 Maryland 2,  No. 5 Michigan State 1

Thursday, May 21
Game 5: No. 6 Indiana vs. No. 7 Ohio State at 9 a.m.** | Gametracker
Game 6: No. 8 Nebraska vs. Michigan State at 1 p.m.** | Gametracker 
Game 7: No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 2 Iowa at 5 p.m. > | Gametracker
Game 8: No. 1 Illinois vs. Maryland at 9 p.m. > | Gametracker

** Elimination game

The tournament's double-elimination format will culminate with a single championship game on Sunday, with the winner earning the tournament title and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Big Ten Honors

Sophomore Tom Marcinczyk earned the recognition of All-Big Ten Third Team. Senior Joe D'Annunzio was additionally acknowledged by the league as a sportsmanship award honoree.

"For our first year in the Big Ten and finding out what it is about, there were a lot of great hitters," head coach Joe Litterio said. "Tom was one of those hitters who put up numbers and it is great to see him recognized. It is very deserving."

Marcinczyk had a breakout season in 2015 by leading the Scarlet Knights with a .325 overall batting average, a .337 Big Ten batting average, a .409 on-base percentage, a .507 slugging percentage (11^th in Big Ten), 66 hits, 103 total bases (tied 11^th), seven home runs (tied ninth), 36 RBIs and 25 walks. The outfielder had 20 multiple-hit games and capped his year by picking up two RBIs in each of the three games in the series win over No. 13 Iowa.

All-Big Ten Third Team

OF - Tom Marcinczyk, Rutgers

Sportsmanship Award Honoree For Rutgers

Joe D'Annunzio, Rutgers

Big Ten Baseball Player of the Year

David Kerian, ILL

Pitcher of the Year

Tyler Jay, ILL

Freshman of the Year

Jake Bivens, MICH

Coach of the Year

Dan Hartleb, ILL

National Tennis Honors for RU

Junior Lindsey Kayati has been named the 2015 ITA Division I  Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship winner, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced. The national recognition comes after Kayati received the honor for the Northeast Region.

scarletknights.com

"We are extremely proud of Lindsey, how she represents our program and the tremendous leadership she provides to our program," said Athletic Director Julie Hermann.

The ITA/Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship goes to a Division I women's player who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, which has enhanced her team's performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis. Additionally, the award also recognizes an obstacle the student-athlete must overcome to play collegiate tennis.

The national award is selected from the 12 regional recipients of the award and is voted upon by the regional chairs of the committee.

Men's Lacrosse

All Big Ten, all the time.

The conference picked a good year to start playing lacrosse, and it was prescient in picking up Johns Hopkins as an associate member.

Johns Hopkins and Maryland both advanced to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Final Four on Sunday after posting wins in the quarterfinals. The Blue Jays and Terrapins will meet in next Saturday's national semifinals for the right to play for the NCAA Championship.

Johns Hopkins defeated second-seeded Syracuse, 16-15, while Maryland beat third-seeded North Carolina, 14-7. Both games were played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

Johns Hopkins and Maryland shared the inaugural Big Ten Championship. The Blue Jays posted a 15-12 win over the Terps in College Park, Md., on April 25. The winner of Saturday's rematch in the national semifinals will face either top-seeded Notre Dame or fourth-seeded Denver for the national title on Monday, May 25.

Women's Lacrosse

Following its 17-5 victory over Northwestern in Sunday's NCAA quarterfinals, Maryland's women's lacrosse team secured its seventh straight Final Four appearance. The Terrapins will take on fourth-seeded Syracuse on Friday at either 5 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. ET. Maryland defeated the Orange, 10-7, on March 7 in College Park. The other national semifinal has Duke facing North Carolina.