Last Friday, Rutgers left-hander Justin Sinibaldi dazzled on the mound, holding UConn scoreless in nine innings of work. Due to his latest masterpiece, Sinibaldi had a reason to celebrate on Monday. He was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week.
As Sinibaldi set the tone for the series against the Huskies, he struck out nine batters while allowing four hits. The Bridgewater native became the first pitcher in program history to throw a shutout since Howie Grey in 2016. In his latest win, Rutgers needed every bit of Sinibaldi’s brilliance.
The Huskies were able to keep Rutgers scoreless until the seventh inning. Rutgers offense then broke through, putting three runs on the board. That is all offense fans would see before the game came to a close.
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Justin Sinibaldi goes the distance for @RutgersBaseball. Complete game shutout for the big lefty. Final line:
9 IP, 110 pitches
4 H
0 R
1 BB
9 K pic.twitter.com/vKRQXH2gYZ
— Brian Recca (@brian_recca) March 22, 2024
Through 41.2 innings of work this season, Sinibaldi has posted a 3.02 ERA and struck out 40 batters. He already has four wins, only one short of matching his career high. Rutgers has had a good chance of winning whenever he has been on the mound.
While the season is far from over, the 2024 campaign is already shaping up to be one Sinibaldi won’t forget. He is on pace to set new career highs in multiple categories, including strikeouts, innings pitched, and games started.
As long he builds on his recent success, more weekly awards could be on the horizon.