2/17/2023 baseball Edit

Rutgers Baseball versus Campbell Camels Series Preview

Hector Rodriguez • TheKnightReport

Baseball Analyst

Rutgers Baseball season is finally back after a long offseason. The Scarlet Knights will begin their 2023 season on the road as they are set to take on Campbell University.

The Camels are also coming off an excellent 2022 season in which they made it to the NCAA Tournament.

With that being said, here is our series preview between the Scarlet Knights and the Camels.

FRIDAY, FEB. 17 -- 5 p.m. -- ESPN+

SATURDAY, FEB. 18 -- 3 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEB. 19 -- 12p.m. -- ESPN+

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CAMPBELL CAMELS

Campbell is looking to get their season off on the right foot with a three-game home weekend series versus Rutgers. The Camels are led by head coach Justin Haire, who’s in his sixth season at the helm.

The Camels are highlighted by their pitching staff who is led by junior right-handed pitcher Cade Kuehler. The North Carolina native is considered one of the top pitching prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft and is currently ranked the 46th-ranked prospect for the 2023 draft according to MLB Pipeline.

After that Campbell will hand it off to redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Chance Daquila as he will get the start on Saturday. This will be Daquila’s debut with the Camels as he’s a junior college transfer from Catawba Valley Community College.

Finally in the series finale, junior right-handed pitcher Cade Boxrucker will get the nod on Sunday. The Ohio native made eleven appearances and six starts for the Camels last season, posting 4-0 record with a 7.15 ERA. He also struck out 36 batters in the 34 innings pitched.

As for the Camels offense, they did lose their best hitter from last season to the MLB Draft in former All-American Zach Neto, he was selected in the first round by the Los Angeles Angels.

However they still have some offensive firepower on their roster. First baseman Drake Pierson batted .333 with 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases last year.

Two other Campbell hitters to watch this weekend are Jarrod Belbin and Logan Jordan.

RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS....

Rutgers is looking to finish the job this season after falling just short of the NCAA Tournament in 2022. Despite being snubbed by the tournament, Rutgers still had a historic season in which they won the most games in program history.

The Scarlet Knights come into this season with high expectations and return one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country as head coach Steve Owens enters his fourth season in charge of the program.

The Rutgers pitching staff has a lot of new faces after losing their entire weekend rotation and closer to either graduation or the MLB Draft. Starting off this Friday for Rutgers will be recent Seton Hall transfer Drew Conover. The Cape Cod All-Star earned the starting role after an impressive fall and spring camp. This was an interesting move considering he was a closer for a majority of the offseason in the Cape Cod League.

On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights will turn to freshman right-handed pitcher Christian Coppola as he will make his collegiate debut. He was impressive in the fall and completely earned his role in the weekend rotation.

In the series finale, right-handed pitcher Jake Marshall will pitch for the Scarlet Knights. Last season was one of the best Division II pitchers in the country for Le Moyne where he posted a 6-3 record with a 3.27 ERA, 108 strikeouts, 1.17 WHIP, and 11.4 K/9.

The Rutgers offense will be led by junior outfielder, Ryan Lasko who was named a preseason All-American after a stellar sophomore season last year where he slashed .349/.431/.643 with 24 doubles, sixteen home runs, 51 RBIs, and a 1.075 OPS.

First baseman Chris Brito is another returning starter that could have a major impact for the Scarlet Knights not just in this series, but the season overall. He was recently named the ninth-ranked first baseman in college baseball by Just Baseball.

Two other hitters to watch for the Scarlet Knights are Evan Sleight and Josh Kuroda-Grauer.