The Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball team have a lot to be happy about early in the 2022 season.
Before their home opener against Wagner on Tuesday, Rutgers started the season on a 10-game road trip. They are set to follow Tuesday's game with an 11-game road trip, making for an exhausting 21 road games to start the season.
But a 9-1 record during the first road trip is certain to build a team's confidence.
The Scarlet Knights are on a six-game winning streak, and their impressive start includes a three-game sweep against Houston Baptist and a two-game sweep against UNCW. They have outscored their opponents 91-33 through their first 10 games to achieve the program's best start since 1962.
The lineup has been relentless, scoring eight runs or more in six of their games. In their last two games against Richmond and VCU, the Scarlet Knights have combined for 29 runs.
Even when the offense wasn't firing on all cylinders, their efforts were more than enough thanks to equally strong pitching. Four of the nine wins were shutouts; the last season where Rutgers had four shutouts was 2012.
Although there are still 11 more road games this month, domination like this away from the friendly confines of Piscataway is legitimately impressive, and hopefully, it is a sign of what lies ahead for the Scarlet Knights this season.
February 18-20: at Houston Baptist
The season began against the Houston Baptist Huskies in a three-game set. The Scarlet Knights swept all three games, outscoring their opponent 32-8.
Southpaw Brian Fitzpatrick set the tone for the season opener with four hitless innings, while Sam Bello and Dale Stanavich combined for the last five innings of scoreless relief to blank the Huskies. The Scarlet Knights capitalized on two errors in the top of the first, with Ryan Lasko reaching on the first miscue and scoring on an errant throw from the backstop while advancing on a wild pitch. A single run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth was more than enough for the men on the mound.
Although Rutgers had 11 hits in the season opener, the bats would truly come alive the next day. Holding a 4-3 lead entering the top of the sixth inning, the Scarlet Knights blasted the game open with 10 runs. Lasko started the rally with a one-out triple and scored on a double by Chris Brito. After back-to-back walks loaded the bases, Tony Santa Maria drove in two with a single. Pinch-hitter Jordan Sweeney then hit a two-run double to make it a 9-3 Rutgers lead. After a hit-by-pitch and a flyout, Richie Schiekofer singled in Sweeney, and after a walk loaded the bases, Brito hit a two-run single before Evan Sleight knocked in two with a double. The Scarlet Knights led 14-3 when the inning finally ended, and cruised to a 18-3 win.
In the series finale, the bats remained red hot, scoring in six straight innings to win 10-5 and complete the sweep. Santa Maria led the charge with four RBIs, and tallied eight total in the series.
February 25: at Coastal Carolina
The Scarlet Knights would suffer their first loss of the season against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, although the offense was impressive yet again. Nick Cimillo hit the team's first home run of the young season, while Sleight drove in three runs in a 15-hit effort from the team. But Coastal Carolina racked up just as many hits, including two home runs, and scored in each of the first six innings to claim a wild slugfest, 15-10. Fitzpatrick took the loss for Rutgers.
February 26 (doubleheader): at UNCW
In a doubleheader against the UNCW Seahawks, the Scarlet Knights took both games to improve to 5-1.
In the first game, the lineup continued to terrorize opposing pitching, tallying 18 hits. Danny DiGeorgio had a monster performance, with three hits, four RBIs, three runs scored, and two stolen bases. On the mound, Jared Kollar allowed only two runs over five innings for his first win as a Scarlet Knight, while Justin Sinibaldi closed out the 12-5 win with a four-inning save.
The bats finally cooled off in the nightcap, although two runs was more than enough in the team's second shutout of the season. In the top of the third, Mike Nyisztor scored the eventual game-winning run by reaching on a strikeout-wild pitch before coming around on another wild pitch with the bases loaded. In the next inning, Santa Maria provided an insurance run with his first home run of the season.
Meanwhile, the pitching was spectacular, not allowing the Seahawks to mount anything resembling a rally. Nathan Florence pitched five scoreless innings while picking up nine of the team's 15 strikeouts. Stanavich earned his first save of the season to cap off a brilliant three-hitter.
March 1: at Saint Joseph's Hawks
In a well-balanced game both at the plate and on the mound, the Scarlet Knights won their third straight game by a 5-2 margin over Saint Joseph's.
The lineup stormed out of the gate, scoring four runs in the top of the first. Nyisztor led off the game with a single before Brito and Lasko hit back-to-back home runs for an early 3-0 cushion. Later in the inning, Sweeney drove in Cimillo with an RBI single.
In the top of the seventh, DiGeorgio hit the team's third home run. On the mound, Wyatt Parliament struck out three while not allowing a hit in his first collegiate start. Garrett French earned the win in a middle relief effort, and Stanavich extinguished a Hawks threat in the bottom of the eighth to earn his second save.
March 4: at William & Mary Tribe
The next three games for Rutgers would all be in Virginia on three straight days, starting against the William & Mary Tribe. In a pitcher's duel, Rutgers prevailed 1-0 for their fourth straight win.
Fitzpatrick rebounded from his poor start against Coastal Carolina by pitching five shutout innings with four hits. Bello stranded a runner on second in the sixth, while Stanavich earned his third save with a perfect ninth. Rutgers scored the only run of the game in the top of the second, when Lasko hit a leadoff single, moved to third on a single by Cimillo, and scored on a single by Sleight.
This was the Scarlet Knights' third shutout of the year in just their eighth game.
March 5: at Richmond Spiders
After a spectacular pitching performance, the moundsmen had no pressure the next day, as the lineup embarrassed the Richmond Spiders with a 21-run explosion.
In the top of the third inning, the Scarlet Knights scored five runs, including a two-run single by DiGeorgio. In the fifth, Rutgers made it 9-0 on a two-run single by Schiekofer and a two-run double by DiGeorgio, who finished with four RBIs. The next inning, after an RBI single by Sleight, Josh Kuroda-Grauer blasted a three-run home run, the first of his collegiate career. Santa Maria would homer as well in the inning, while Sweeney hit a two-run shot in the seventh. Rutgers scored 20 runs before allowing Richmond to score, and claimed their fifth straight victory in a 21-3 drubbing.
March 6: at VCU Rams
Rutgers followed their blowout of Richmond with a rout of the VCU Rams, winning 8-0 for their sixth straight victory.
The Scarlet Knights dominated on both sides of the ball. Kuroda-Grauer had four RBIs for the second straight game, while Cimillo hit his second home run of the year. On the mound, Florence threw 5.1 shutout innings, while receiving additional help from his defense, and three more pitchers would toe the slab to give Rutgers their fourth shutout in a 10-game span, all on the road.
Next Up for Rutgers
The home opener is on Tuesday at 2:00, as the Scarlet Knights host the Wagner Seahawks. Jersey Sporting News will be on scene to provide coverage of Rutgers' home opener.
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