The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are back on the road after cruising past the Wagner Seahawks in their home opener on Tuesday. The Scarlet Knights have headed west to take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in a four-game weekend series.
Rutgers arrived on the island with an impressive 10-1 record on the season. This is their best start to season since the 1962 season. Rutgers have had excellent production from all assets on the game especially on offense.
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors will host the Scarlet Knights as they open the series with a 4-8 record on the year. Hawaii got swept last weekend against Vanderbilt Commodores in a four-game set. Here is the series preview between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are looking to turn their luck around as they’ll host the red hot Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Rainbow Warriors are led by their head coach, Rich Hill, who’s in his first season at Hawaii.
The Rainbow Warriors pitching staff will also be led by their Georgia Tech graduate transfer pitcher, Andy Archer. The 6’5” 220 pound right-hander will get start for Hawaii on Friday night. Archer has struggled on the mound to start the season he’s posted a 0-2 record with a 9.00 ERA and .327 opponent batting average.
Junior right-handed pitcher Cade Halemanu will get the start in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader. Halemanu has already made three starts this season. He has a 0-1 record with a 5.02 ERA and 1.40 WHIP.
Hawaii has not announced the other two starters of the Rutgers series. Left-handed pitcher Tai Atkins might get one of those starts as well as senior right-handed pitcher Buddie Pindel.
As for the Hawaii offense, they have gotten off to a really awful start to their season. Hawaii’s offense is ranked 274th in the country. Hawaii does have one starter on the roster that has a .300 batting average.
Junior outfield Scotty Scott leads the Rainbow Warriors offense with a .300 batting average. He also has twelve hits, elven walks, four stolen bases and a team-high .481 on base percentage.
Graduate outfielder Cole Cabrera has also been one of Hawaii’s most productive bats this season. The former Rays draft pick is slashing .295/.407/.364 with a team-high thirteen hits and three stolen bases.
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS
The Rutgers Scarlet Knight look to continue to roll as they are not too far away from starting Big Ten play. The Scarlet Knights have one of the top offenses in the country as they are batting .335 as a team which is ranked tenth in the country.
However, the Rutgers pitching staff has also been really solid this season. In the Big Ten Conference, Rutgers has the third lowest team ERA with a 3.03 only behind Iowa and Purdue. The RU pitching staff will led by their ace left-handed pitcher Brian Fitzpatrick.
The hard-throwing southpaw has had an okay start to his season. Fitzpatrick has made three starts this season. He’s posted a 1-1 record with 4.91 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and a .238 opponent batting average.
Seton Hill transfer Jared Kollar will get the start in the first game of the doubleheader but he’s been very good in his first three starts. Kollar has a 2-0 record with a 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 1.2 BB/9. Rutgers hasn’t announce who is pitching the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
In the series finale, right-handed pitcher Nathan Florence will get the start for the Scarlet Knights. Florence has been lights out for Rutgers early in the season. Florence has a 2-0 record in three starts. He also has a 0.68 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a .208 opponent batting average.
Catcher Nick Cimillo has been a terrific addition for the Scarlet Knights this past offseason. The former Manhattan transfer is batting .500 with 18 hits, six doubles, three home runs and a team-high 1.542 OPS.
Former Virginia transfer Evan Sleight has also been raking for the Scarlet Knights. Sleight is slashing .471/.548/.588 with 16 hits, one home run, ten RBIs and a 1.136 OPS. Two other Scarlet knights to watch this weekend are middle infielders Danny DiGeorgio and Tony Santa Maria.
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