2/16/2022 baseball Edit

Three Houston Baptist Huskies to watch against Rutgers Baseball

Hector Rodriguez

Staff Writer

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball season is just days as they’ll be on the road for their first weekend series of the season. Rutgers will travel down south to Texas as they’ll take on the Houston Baptist Huskies.

Houston Baptist comes into this season looking to improve on their rough 2021 season. Last season, the Huskies went 14-38 and 11-27 in conference play. Now with that being said, the Huskies do have some talent on their roster including a Preseason All-Conference infielder.

With all that being said, let's take a look at three Huskies to watch in this three-game series versus the Scarlet Knights.

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1B BRENNAN BALES

Junior first baseman Brennan Bales is one of the bright spot on Houston Baptist’s roster last season. Bales was the Huskies best hitter as even got some innings on the mound as a relief pitcher.

During the 2021 season, Bales slashed .356/.416/.469 with 57 hits, eight doubles, two home runs, 22 RBIs and had a .885 OPS. On the mound, Bales made eight appearances and all were out of the bullpen. He had a 6.75 ERA with a 12.2 K/9 in 6.2 innings pitched.

Bales is expected to hit in the middle of Houston Baptist’s lineup as he’s their top hitter. The Huskies struggled at the dish last season batting only .238 as a team but Bales was the only player that batted .300 or over last season for HBU.

RHP ANDREW REITMEYER

Senior right-handed pitcher Andrew Reitmeyer was one of Houston Baptist’s most used pitchers last season. The California native had a productive junior season being mostly used out of the bullpen.

During the 2021 season, Reitmeyer made 19 appearances including two starts. Reitmeyer posted a 3-4 record with a 3.92 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, .224 opponent batting average and struck 41 batters in 41.1 innings pitched. He also led the team in saves with four.

Being his senior season, Reitmeyer might be under consideration to the Huskies ace this season. They lost one of the top arms who signed with the Houston Astros as an undefeated free agent. Reitmeyer has some experience as a starter and the Huskies struggled on the mound last season with a 5.96 team-ERA in 2021.

2B JAKE MILLER

Senior infielder Jake Miller is another returning starter the Houston Baptist Huskies are excited to get back for another season. Miller was one the Huskies top hitters in the lineup and started in the majority of their games.

During lasts season, Miller played in 47 games and also started in 45 of them. Miller batted .274 with 48 hits, six doubles, two home runs, 18 RBIs, 25 runs score and five stolen bases.

Miller is projected to be Houston Baptist starting second base but does have experience playing all over rite infield. Miller has played over two dozens games at third and eleven games at first. He’s also expected to hit at or near the top of the Huskies lineup.