2/19/2022 baseball Edit

Rutgers Baseball opens season with a 4-0 win over Houston Baptist

Hector Rodriguez

Rutgers.Rivals.com

Rutgers Baseball opens the 2022 season with a win against the Houston Baptist Huskies. The Scarlet Knights knocked off the Huskies in shutout fashion, winning 4-0. This was a complete game from Rutgers in which they had quality pitching and offense in the season opener.

Junior left-handed pitcher Brian Fitzpatrick got the start for Rutgers and had an excellent outing against the Huskies. The 6’7” 230 pound southpaw made his first start with Rutgers since the 2019 season. Fitzpatrick pitched four no-hit innings allowing no runs, one walk, one hit by pitch and seven strikeouts.

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Maryland transfer Sam Bello made his Rutgers debut and also got his first win of the season. Bello threw 4.1 innings allowing three hits, no runs, two walks and three strikeouts. Left-handed pitcher Dale Stanavich came in the middle of the ninth inning to close the game. Stanavich only faced one batter as he was able to record the final two outs on a 6-4-3 game-ending double play.

As for the Scarlet Knights offense, they had a quality day at the plate as they score four runs on eleven hits. Manhattan transfer catcher Nick Cimillo had a good game in his first time playing for Rutgers.

Cimillo went 2-4 in the season opener with a double and a RBI. Designated hitter Evan Sleight also had a two-hit game to open his season. Sophomore outfielder Ryan Lasso also went 1-5 with a double and true freshman Josh Kuroda-Grauer went 1-4 collecting his first collegiate hit in his first plate appearance.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will be back on the diamond tomorrow afternoon against the Houston Baptist Huskies. Rutgers will also be looking to clinch their first series win of the season.

Houston Baptist will have right-handed pitcher Ethan Abbott on the mound for the second game of the series. Graduate transfer and right-handed pitcher Jared Kollar will get the start for the Scarlet Knights. First time is at 2pm EST.