Rutgers Baseball opened their 2025 season on the right foot with a series win over Kennesaw State. After splitting in Friday’s doubleheader, the Scarlet Knights won the rubber match and knocked off the Owls by a score of 7-2 in game three.
The Rutgers pitching staff had a good showing with the exception of one inning. If it wasn’t for one five-run inning, the Scarlet Knights would have swept the Owls . They also got some nice production from the new transfers as well.
With that being said, here are three takeaways from the series.
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RUTGERS PITCHING STAFF EXCELS....
The Scarlet Knights pitching staff had a great opening weekend after replacing most of their pitching staff from last season, but the early returns on their newcomers are positive.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Landon Mack impressed in his first collegiate start, throwing four innings, allowing three hits, no runs, no walks, and three strikeouts. Junior left-handed pitcher Preston Prince also had a good Rutgers debut, throwing three innings, allowing one hit, no runs, two walks, and four strikeouts.
The Rutgers pitching staff was a reason for their struggles last season, but with a brand-new pitching staff and coach, the Scarlet Knights are looking to rebound and look to compete for the Big Ten Championship.
NEWCOMERS MAKE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT
With the amount of turnover from last season’s roster, the Scarlet Knights needed to hit the Transfer Portal hard this offseason. They added multiple hitters and pitchers who have already helped them secure multiple wins.
On offense, the newcomers were some of the biggest producers this weekend. Campbell transfer outfielder Peyton Bonds went 5-for-12 (.417), JUCO transfer JT Thompson went 4-for-11 (.364 batting average) and Division III transfer Brennan Hyde also hit the first home run of the season.
On the mound, both transfers and freshmen made big impacts for the Scarlet Knights. Mack and Prince made impacts as starting pitchers and out of the bullpen, Quinn Berglin, Zach Gleason, Mike Timberlake, and Dillon Ryan all threw pretty well.
KEEPING MOMENTUM HEADING INTO NEXT WEEK
The Scarlet Knights had an impressive showing this weekend against a quality non-conference opponent, but they will need to keep that momentum going heading into next weekend.
The Scarlet Knights will head to Arizona to take on Grand Canyon in a four-game weekend series and the Antelopes are one of the best West Coast teams in the country. On D1 Baseball, Grand Canyon is projected to finish first in the WAC.
The Antelopes have a strong weekend rotation and are also one of the best defensive teams in the country. They also return some big hitters like corner infielders Jason York and Eli Paton.
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