The Rutgers Scarlet Knights open Big Ten Conference play this weekend on the road. The Scarlet Knights will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in a three-game weekend starting Friday afternoon.
Rutgers comes into their first Big Ten series with a 14-5 record and a midweek win over the Rider Broncs. Rutgers had a disappointing weekend series versus the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks as they dropped two out of three games. Rutgers will play a doubleheader on Friday and the series finale will be on Saturday.
The Penn State Nittany Lions will host the Scarlet Knights for their first conference weekend series of the season. Penn State is 7-11 heading into the season. Here is the series preview between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Penn State Nittany Lions.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
The Penn State Nittany Lions are looking to start on the right foot heading into the Big Ten play versus Rutgers. The Nittany Lions are led by their head coach, Rob Cooper, who’s in his ninth season at Penn State.
The Nittany Lions pitching staff will also be led by their sophomore right-handed pitcher Travis Luensmann. The South Carolina transfer has struggled so far this season. In his first five starts, Luensmann has posted a 0-2 record. He also has a 6.29 ERA and 11.8 K/9.
In the second game of the doubleheader, freshman right-handed pitcher Tommy Molsky get start for the Nittany Lions. Molsky has has an up and down to his collegiate career. On the season, Molsky has a 0-3 record with a 4.35 ERA and 9.6 K/9.
In the series finale, Penn State has not announced their Sunday starter versus Rutgers. Junior left-handed pitcher Kellan Tulio is the projected starting pitcher for the Nittany Lions on Saturday.
As for the Nittany Lions offense, they have struggled a bit at the dish but do have some quality bats in their lineup. Junior catcher Matt Wood leads the Penn State offense in batting. Wood is batting .345 with 20 hits, four doubles, one triple, four home runs and a team-high 1.127 OPS.
Senior first baseman Josh Spiegel is another hot bat in the Nittany Lions lineup. He’s slashing .306/.389/.435 with 18 hits, five doubles, one home runs and a .824 OPS. Two other Nittany Lions to watch this weekend are outfielder Billy Gerlott and infielder Kyle Hannon.
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS
The Rutgers Scarlet Knight are looking to make a pretty big impression in their first Big Ten series versus Penn State. Rutgers offense continues to be one of the best in the country as they possess a .318 team batting average.
However, the Rutgers pitching staff has also been really solid this season and will roll with the same weekend rotation as last week. Right-handed pitcher Jared Kollar will get the start on Friday night. The Seton Hill transfer has been very good in his first five starts. Kollar has a 3-0 record with a 1.84 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 0.6 BB/9.
On Saturday, LHP Brian Fitzpatrick will get the start for Rutgers. The hard-throwing southpaw has struggled to begin the season but looked solid in his last outing. Fitzpatrick has posted a 2-1 record with 4.74 ERA, 1.632 WHIP and a 10.4 K/9.
In the series finale, right-handed pitcher Nathan Florence will pitch for the Scarlet Knights. Florence has been lights out for Rutgers early in the season. Florence has a 2-1 record in three starts. He also has a 2.25 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and a 12.2 K/9.
Catcher Nick Cimillo continues to stay hot for the Scarlet Knights this season. The former Manhattan transfer is slashing .426/.552/.765 with 29 hits, eight doubles, five home runs and a team-high 1.317 OPS.
Former Virginia transfer Evan Sleight is coming off a great game against Rider and good weekend series versus Nebraska-Omaha. Sleight is batting .415 with 27 hits, five doubles, two home runs, 13 RBIs and a 1.072 OPS. Two out Rutgers hitters to watch this weekend are shortstop Danny DiGeorgio and outfielder Richie Schiekofer.
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