Rutgers baseball stays hot heading into the weekend

It has been a hot start to the non-conference schedule as Rutgers baseball is getting it done in many ways.

A busy past week saw the Scarlet Knights drop a slugfest to Coastal Carolina before sweeping a double-header from UNC Wilmington and taking down St. Joseph’s in a single game. Rutgers is now 6-1 on the young season.

It has been a season full of traveling to this point as Rutgers has not made its home debut just yet. The road continued with a trip to Conway, SC to take on the Chanticleers. Coastal Carolina scored in each of the first six innings to take a 15-10 victory.

The Scarlet Knights’ offense remained hot in this game. Evan Sleight totaled a career-high three hits and added three RBIs. Richie Schiekofer, Chris Brito, Nick Cimillo, and Tony Santa Maria logged multi-hit games to keep the offense on track.

Rutgers quickly rebounded the next day with 12 runs on 18 hits during a win in the opener against UNC Wilmington. This marked the fifth consecutive game to start the season that Rutgers logged at least 11 hits. Ryan Lasko finished 4-for-6 with two RBIs while Danny DiGeorgio knocked in four runs.

While the offense led the way in the opener, it was the pitching that got the job done in the nightcap.

Nathan Florence tossed five innings of two-hit ball with nine strikeouts to pickup the win. Ben Gorski and Garrett French kept UNC Wilmington off the board until Dale Stanavich picked up a four-out save in a 2-0 win. Rutgers got a run on a wild pitch before Santa Maria added a solo home run in the fourth inning.

“We want to play at a high level every game,” head coach Steve Owens said. “I thought we pitched well, too many walks, but made pitches when needed. We swung the bats early and they made adjustments, had some opportunities to add more and didn’t get hits in those spots. The way we scored today was hitting the ball over the fence.”

This continued on Tuesday as the Scarlet Knights used three home runs and strong arms on the mound to win their third in a row. Rutgers traveled to Merion Station, PA to take on St. Joseph’s and did not waste any time getting on the board.

Brito and Lasko sparked the offense in a four-run first inning with solo home runs. DiGeorgio added a home run in the seventh inning.

The Scarlet Knights used six pitchers and totaled 13 strikeouts. Stanavich earned a six-out save showing that he is able to get many outs at the end of a game.

Schiekofer has led the way to this point going 15-for-30 to begin the season. Santa Maria has knocked in 11 runs. The Scarlet Knights have hit five home runs but are getting it done at the dish in many ways.

Rutgers will be on the road once again this weekend beginning with a matchup with William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. The Scarlet Knights will finish the weekend in Richmond, VA with games against Richmond and VCU.