3/29/2022 baseball Edit

Three Takeaways from Rutgers Baseball's series versus Penn State

Hector Rodriguez

Rutgers.Rivals.com

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights opened their first Big Ten weekend series of the season and secured the series win. Rutgers and Penn State split in the Friday doubleheader but Rutgers had a record game as they blew out the Penn State Nittany Lions 20-6 in the series finale.

Rutgers’s first test against Big Ten competition went well as they took care of business against Penn State on the road. Here are three takeaways from Rutgers weekend series versus the Penn State Nittany Lions.

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GOOD START TO B1G PLAY

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights have made some early impressions this season that left many wondering if it would carry over once they started playing against Big Ten competition.

Penn State isn’t known as a top Big Ten baseball program but it was still going to be a difficult test for the Scarlet Knights especially on the road. Rutgers passed their first test with a 2-1 record.

Rutgers offense had good production all weekend but went completely off in the series finale. Rutgers scored 20 runs which was a Rutgers Big Ten record and also recorded 25 hits which is the most Rutgers has recorded since the 2010 season.

LASKO HAS MONSTER WEEKEND

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights offense was good once again this weekend but sophomore outfielder Ryan Lasko had a huge weekend at the dish for the Scarlet Knights. Lasko became Rutgers leadoff hitter this past week and it’s looking like a good move for head coach Steve Owens.

During the weekend series versus Penn State, Lasko went 8-12 at the plate. Lasko also hit two doubles, one home run, five walks, three runs batted in and scored five times against the Nittany Lions.

With Lasko's production this past weekend, he is now slashing .330/.410/.520 with 33 hits, nine doubles, two home runs, 13 walks and three stolen bases. This was a very encouraging weekend for the Rutgers offense especially with Lasko setting the tone and consistently getting on base.

BULLPEN CONTINUES TO COME UP CLUTCH

The Rutgers bullpen had some questions marks heading into this season but they have looked very good this season. Rutgers closer Dale Stanavich has been lights out so far this season and pitched very well in the Big Ten opening series.

In the series, Stanavich pitched 1.2 innings allowing two hits, no runs, two walks three strikeouts and earned his fifth save of the season. Stanavich has a 0.64 ERA and 0.57 WHIP in his ten appearances this season.

Maryland transfer Sam Bello has also pitched very well for Rutgers this season and threw very well on Friday. Bello has a 1-0 record in six appearances. Bello has also posted a 2.04 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and a .190 opponent batting average. Two other bullpen arms that have pitched well this season for the Scarlet Knights are right-handed pitchers Ben Gorski and Garrett French.