RU serious? Rutgers baseball tallies 28 runs in one game

There have been a lot of exciting times this spring for Rutgers athletics this spring including the fundraising, B1G gymnastics championships at the RAC, B1G tournament basketball win, MLAX being number 1, All-American wrestlers, football student appreciation day, and the baseball team finally got into the act Tuesday.

Having not played a game since last Wednesday, the Knights baseball team scored what is believed to be a program record 28 runs in a drubbing of the Lafayette Leopards. Though many of our readers may have watched a slugfest in Philadelphia between some of their favorite MLB teams, the real fireworks happened about an hour north in Easton, PA. The spectators at an unseasonably warm Kamine Stadium saw the Scarlet Knights pound out 24 hits, the most by the ballclub since 2010. The runs per inning by the Scarlet Knights were the following: 7-6-6-0-1-2-0-6-0.

This seems odd too because I thought the “mercy rule” would have been in effect at some point as Lafayette only plated 4 runs themselves. Instead, this one went the full 9 innings allowing team captain Mike Carter to go 5-for-5 with a home run and a double, scoring three runs while driving in three more. Carter leads the B1G at a blistering .409 batting average in 2017. Steve Nyisztor also on the 2010 team listed above was the last player to have 5 hits in a game.

The team also got homers from Tom Marcinczyk (2), Nick Matera (2), and Mike Martinez. Marcinczyk also had two in a May 10, 2015 game at Illinois as part of the team’s last six dinger attack. John O’Reilly did a nice job in 3 innings on the hill to earn his second win of the season.

NOTES: Talk about a team effort, which is the most impressive? 12 players got at least one base hit, 11 had an RBI, and 12 scored a run.

The previous record of 27 runs was initially set in 1987 against another Pennsylvania opponent, LaSalle. The mark was equaled in 2004 in a shutout of instate rival FDU.

The Scarlet Knights look to stay hot and get their first B1G win of the season at home against Purdue this weekend. The opener of the three game set is scheduled to be broadcast on BTN Plus Friday at 3 p.m.