Rutgers Baseball is back home for their biggest Big Ten weekend series of the season as they will host the nationally-ranked Maryland Terrapins for a three-game weekend series starting Saturday afternoon.
Rutgers comes into this series with a 36-10 record and are also currently in first place in the Big Ten with a 15-3 conference record. Rutgers swept Ohio State last weekend but got upset versus Seton Hall in their midweek game.
The Maryland Terrapins are set for a three-game series versus Rutgers and are looking to take over first place in the Big Ten Conference. Maryland has been excellent this season as they are 35-9 on the season while also having an 11-4 Big Ten record. Here is the series preview between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Maryland Terrapins.
MARYLAND TERRAPINS
The Maryland Terrapins arrive at Bainton Field for what should be an excellent weekend series between the top two teams in the Big Ten. The Terrapins will be led by their head coach, Rob Vaughn, who’s in his fifth season at Maryland.
The Terrapins’ pitching staff will also be led by their junior left-handed pitcher Ryan Ramsey as he’ll get the start on Saturday. Ramsey is coming one of the great pitching performances in college baseball as he pitched the 20th perfect game in college baseball history.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jason Savacool will get the start for the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday. The New York native has been awesome through his first eleven starts this season. Savacool has an 8-0 record with a 2.42 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 10.6 K/9, and a .201 opponent batting average.
In the series finale, junior right-handed pitcher Nick Dean will be on the mound for Maryland. Dean has also been solid this season as he’s made ten starts on the season. Dean possesses a 3-2 record with a 4.12 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and a .242 opponent batting average.
As for the Maryland offense, they have one of the two teams in the Big Ten batting over .300 as a team. Sophomore catcher Luke Shliger has been a huge season for Maryland’s success. He’s slashing .352/.494/.591 with 62 hits, fourteen doubles, two triples, eight home runs, and a team-high 1.085 OPS.
Fifth-year senior outfielder Chris Alleyne is also crushing the ball for the Terrapins. He’s batting .333 with a team-high in home runs (14) and stolen bases (17.) Two other Terrapins to watch this weekend are Maxwell Costes and Bobby Zmarzlak.
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are looking to secure first place in the Big Ten Conference with Maryland coming to town. Rutgers had an excellent series versus Ohio State pulling off a road sweep but laid an egg against Seton Hall on Tuesday.
The Rutgers pitching staff has been excellent this season but has not announced a starting pitcher in one of their games. Right-handed pitcher Jared Kollar will still be on the mound in the series opener on Saturday. The Seton Hill transfer has been excellent this season as he has a 7-1 record through eleven starts. He also possesses a 2.76 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, and a .208 opponent batting average.
On Sunday, right-handed pitcher Nathan Florence will get the start for the Scarlet Knights. Florence is another graduate transfer that has been lights out for Rutgers this season. Florence has a 5-2 record with a 2.94 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 12.3 K/9 in ten starts.
As for the series finale, Rutgers has not announced who will get the start for the Scarlet Knights on Sunday. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Justin Sinibaldi has been the Sunday starter for Rutgers recently but might not get the nod this weekend considering he pitched in the midweek.
The Rutgers offense continues to produce like the #1 offense in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights are still ranked inside the Top Ten in team batting average nationally as they are tied for seventh with Sam Houston State, Virginia and others are batting .317 on the season.
Catcher Nick Cimillo made his return to the diamond last week and is starting to make an impact for Rutgers again. Cimillo still leads the club in batting as he’s slashing .395/.497/.713 with 62 hits, fourteen doubles, twelve home runs, and a team-high 1.210 OPS.
Sophomore outfielder Ryan Lasko has been one of the hottest hitters in the country since last week. Lasko was named the Big Ten Player of the Week after an incredible performance against the Buckeyes.
On the season, Lasko is slashing .355/.422/.650 and leads the Scarlet Knights in multiple offensive categories. He leads the club in hits (72), doubles (17) home runs (13), and total bases (132). Two other Rutgers hitters to watch this weekend are infielders Danny DiGeorgio and Chris Brito.
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