Sports
Senior provides strong presence at front of Rutgers rotation
Leaders are vital in any sport, but especially so in baseball.
With the grind of a long season featuring early nonconference games followed by a loaded conference schedule, there are many opportunities to lose focus and see confidence dwindle if losing occurs.
Teams look for an ace at the top of their pitching staff to keep the up the momentum when things are going well, but also to be a stopper and put an end to bad times.
For the Rutgers baseball team (11-16, 2-4), senior pitcher Howie Brey fills that role at the front of the pitching staff.
The southpaw from Middletown, New Jersey, is 2-3 on the season with a 3.17 ERA, leading the team in innings pitched (48.1) and strikeouts (41).
He is coming off his best outing of the season, as Brey threw a complete game with eight strikeouts over Big Ten foe Indiana, leading the Scarlet Knights to a 7-1 victory and their first conference win of the season.
But even more than the numbers show, his presence as a reliable and stabilizing force at the forefront of the rotation gives the Knights someone they know they can count on to set the tone for how they want to play in each series.
“Howie is Howie, and that is usually very good,” said head coach Joe Litterio.Apr 4 2016
