Through the first few weeks of the college baseball season, Tony Santa Maria has been a key part of Rutgers success. The New Jersey native has been a hits machine and displayed impressive power. With him in the lineup Rutgers offense has been hard to stop.
Through 25 games, Santa Maria has added eight home runs and 37 hits to his resume. He has also shown ability to drive the baseball, with 16 extra-base hits. Regardless of the opponent, he has made an impact whenever he steps into the batters box and posted a .374 batting average.
Welcome back Tony Santa Maria! @RutgersBaseball third baseman takes Andrew Dutkanych deep to left center. Santa Maria missed almost all of the 2023 season with injury. pic.twitter.com/mwfoq6wAPQ
— Brian Recca (@brian_recca) October 21, 2023
During the 2023 campaign, the talented infielder was limited to five games due to injury. However, he showed a preview of what he can do with a .429 batting average in seven at-bats. Now that he is healthy, Rutgers is reaping the benefits of having one of their best bats back in action.
As Rutgers looks to build on their success they will need Santa Maria to continue his red hot start. He has already recorded 13 multi-hit games with over a month left in the regular season. The Iona product also leads the team in home runs, RBI, total bases and on base percentage.
Regardless of what happens over the next few weeks, Santa Maria has provided a reminder of his importance to this Rutgers team.