Rutgers baseball drops 2 of 3 games at home to Maryland
The Rutgers baseball team fell in 2 of 3 games against Maryland this weekend at Bainton Field on Livingston campus. The Scarlet Knights (26-21, 4-14) and the Terrapins (31-18, 10-11) combined for 20 total runs in the low-scoring three-game series.
Game one: Rutgers loses 4-3
Rutgers was able to get on the board first in the bottom of the first inning after freshman infielder Ty Doucette singled home a run.
The game would remain scoreless until the top of the sixth inning after Eddie Hacopian doubled home 2 runs. Maryland would score its last 2 runs in the inning to give itself a 4-1 lead.
In the bottom half of the following inning, Doucette doubled home 2 more runs, but it wouldn’t be enough for the Knights to overcome the Terrapins in game one.
Senior left-handed pitcher Justin Sinibaldi was credited with the loss after pitching five innings and allowing five hits and 3 runs.
Game two: Rutgers wins 2-1
In a game with just 3 total runs scored, Rutgers was able to win the pitching dual.
Despite giving up a run in the second inning, a bases-loaded walk by redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Donovan Zsak gave Maryland an early 1-0 lead.
After Zsak pitched for three innings, graduate student right-handed pitcher Sonny Fauci came in relief in the fourth, tossing three scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
The Knights jumped out in front after graduate student infielder Johnny Volpe’s 2-run single brought home senior infielder Cameron Love and sophomore outfielder Trevor Cohen.
Junior left-handed pitcher Joe Mazza would take the mound for the last three innings. Mazza earned his first save of the season with a scoreless stint, allowing just one hit to help Rutgers even the series up.
Game three: Rutgers loses 6-4
Scoring in game three would start in the fourth inning. In the top of the frame, a wild pitch, passed ball and run-scoring single gave the Terrapins a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, redshirt sophomore infielder Tony Santa Maria put the Knights on the board with a solo homer while a 2-run double from Volpe in the fifth tied the game at 3.
Once again, pitch command troubles haunted Rutgers after a hit by pitch benefited Maryland and brought home a run in the sixth inning. Moments later, a 2-run double extended the Terrapins lead to 6-3. The Knights would only score 1 more run from that point on as Maryland took the series win on the road.
Rutgers will now look head to another weekend of conference play when it takes on Penn State. All three games will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus with Friday’s first pitch at 5:30 p.m., Saturday’s first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s first pitch penciled in for 1 p.m.
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