On Saturday, Rutgers baseball (17-6) captured their fifth series victory when the Scarlet Knights defeated UConn (8-12) 13-6. After defeating UConn 3-0 on Friday, Rutgers followed their Game 1 victory with another dominant performance on Saturday.
Game One
Rutgers pitcher Justin Sinibaldi stole the show for the Scarlet Knights when he registered a complete game shutout against the Huskies. Sinibaldi recorded nine scoreless innings, logging nine strikeouts. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound lefty pitcher allowed four hits, giving up one walk. The Bridgewater, New Jersey native registered his fourth victory in 2024 when Rutgers defeated UConn 3-0.
At the plate, the Scarlet Knights scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning as they secured their 16th victory of the year. Rutgers third baseman Tony Santa Maria, first baseman Ty Doucette, and left fielder Johnny Volpe provided the firepower for the Scarlet Knights in game one.
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Santa Maria grabbed the lead for the Scarlet Knights with a solo home run to right field, giving Rutgers a 1-0 lead. Doucette continued the momentum with a single back up the middle to extend Rutgers’ lead to 2-0. Volpe recorded Rutgers’ final run with a safety squeeze bunt that scored Pete Durocher and secured the Scarlet Knights’ 3-0 victory over the Huskies.
BALLGAME. DOMINATION. SERIES. RUTGERS.
That’s a series win over UConn!!#TCD pic.twitter.com/f6ViPGOGO3
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) March 24, 2024
Game 2
Rutgers followed their game one victory with a 13-5 win over UConn on Saturday. Rutgers’ game-two victory gave the Scarlet Knights their fifth series win in 2024. Rutgers recorded 14 hits in game two, producing 13 runs.
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Rutgers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when second baseman Cameron Love and center fielder RJ Johnson Jr registered two doubles, scoring two runs. Right fielder Trevor Cohen followed the two doubles by Love and Johnson Jr with a two-run home run giving Rutgers a 4-0 lead.
The Huskies got on the board in the top of the third inning with a two-run home run, but the Scarlet Knights added two runs in the bottom of the frame when catcher Jackson Natili blasted a home run to keep their four-run lead.
Rutgers added two insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth inning giving the Scarlet Knights a 8-2 lead, but the Huskies cut the lead to five with an RBI single in the top of the fifth inning.
Rutgers added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, giving the Scarlet Knights a 10-3 lead. After two runs by UConn in the top of the eighth inning, the Scarlet Knights bounced back with three more runs in the bottom of the frame, giving RU a 13-5 lead.
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UConn added a run in the top of the ninth inning, but the Scarlet Knights ended the Huskies’ comeback, capturing the 13-6 victory. Pitcher Christian Coppola picked up his fourth victory in 2024, recording six strikeouts, two walks, five hits, and three earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched.
Rutgers returns to action on Sunday when they host UConn in the series finale.