During Rutgers 19-15 start, they have gotten contributions throughout the roster. Over their last few games, the Scarlet Knights have been led by their pitching, and freshman Christian Coppola has been crucial to their success. He has appeared in seven games this season and provided optimism for the future.
In 33.1 innings of work, Coppola has posted a 3.24 ERA and struck out 40 batters. The New Jersey native has only allowed 12 earned runs and held opponents to a .225 batting average. In his latest start against Michigan, he was nearly unhittable.
On Friday, Coppola shined at Bainton Field during the best start of his college career. The Cedar Creek High School product did not allow a run in eight innings while striking out 12 batters. Only six Wolverine batters reached base as Rutgers won the first game of the series 13-0.
Christian Coppola. 8 shutout innings. 12 strikeouts.
'nuff said. pic.twitter.com/x5c9EhPlm9
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) April 15, 2023
As Coppola frustrated Wolverines batters, he broke his streak of four-inning starts. Friday marked the first time the Rutgers righthander pitched five innings or more since March 11th. In his other five starts, Copolla has struggled to pitch deep into games and averaged four innings a start.
CC does it all!
After his third strikeout, Christian Coppola gets over to first to finish off the rare 3-6-1 double play to end the third!#TCD pic.twitter.com/qyD4zJzNoR
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) April 8, 2023
With wins at a premium, Copolla will look to build on his recent success. Coming out of high school, he was ranked the 19th-best right-handed pitcher in New Jersey by Perfect Game and has shown why in his last few starts. That is an encouraging sign for Rutgers.
While the season is far from over, Copolla is taking his game to another level at the perfect time. He has tremendous upside, and on Friday, he looked like a future ace.