Rutgers Baseball had a big weekend as they swept one of their local rivals in Penn State.
On top of that, starting third basemen Chris Brito broke a major program record and freshman starting pitcher Christian Coppola continued his dominance on the mound.
With that being said, here are three takeaways from the series sweep.
CHRIS BRITO IS YOUR ALL-TIME HR LEADER...
Senior third baseman Chris Brito made history Sunday afternoon. The right-handed power hitting infielder only recorded one hit in the series finale but it was a historic hit in Rutgers baseball history.
In the bottom of the fifth, Brito smacked a solo home run LF giving Rutgers a 7-2 lead. That was also Brito’s 43rd career home run at Rutgers which snapped the program’s all-time career home run record.
The record was previously held by former MLB All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier. Brito has been an impact bat for the Scarlet Knights since he first enrolled on campus. Brito is tied for first on the club in homers with eleven.
CHRISTIAN COPPOLA WITH ANOTHER DOMINANT SHOWING...
Freshman right-handed pitcher Christian Coppola continues to pitch like an ace after his last outing on Friday. Coppola silenced the Nittany Lions’ offense as he forced weak contact and missed barrels all game.
On Friday night, Coppola pitched seven innings allowing four hits, one run, one walk, and a career-high thirteen strikeouts. Coppola’s previous career high in strikeouts was twelve against Michigan last month.
The New Jersey native has been outstanding in his freshman season. Coppola earned a spot in the weekend rotation in the fall but was not expected to be the ace. He earned the Friday night starter role due to his impressive rookie season.
RUTGERS LOOKING TO CLOSE THE SEASON STRONG...
Rutgers has been playing great baseball as of late and looking to finish the regular season on a high note as they are currently riding a five-game winning streak and have seven more games left on their schedule.
As of now, Rutgers doesn’t look like a team that will make the NCAA Tournament unless they win the Big Ten Tournament. However, if Rutgers finishes the season strong and makes a deep run in the tourney, they could receive an at-large bid.
Rutgers was a major snub last season and the NCAA was widely criticized for leaving them out. Rutgers is currently 30-18 this season and 11-7 in the Big Ten. If Rutgers can finish the season with another 7-8 wins, they might sneak into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.
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