With the regular season winding down, Rutgers swept Penn State in dominating fashion this past weekend. The Scarlet Knights welcomed the Nittany Lions to Piscataway and outscored them 26-3 in three games. As Rutgers improved to 11-7 in Big Ten play, there were plenty of memorable moments.
On Friday, Rutgers started the series with an 8-1 win which included a grand slam from Chris Brito. Penn State could not stop Rutgers offense as four players, including Andy Axelson, Ryan Lasko, Cameron Love, and Brito, had multiple hits. It was only the start of a big weekend for the Scarlet Knights offense.
WE REALLY DON'T RECOMMEND INTENTIONALLY WALKING THE BASES LOADED FOR CHRIS BRITO!!
Brito makes Penn State pay and ties Todd Frazier for the all-time record with his 42nd career home run!!!#TCD pic.twitter.com/QyWV4OaCuz
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) May 6, 2023
Their success continued on Saturday with a 10-0 win. Evan Sleight and Trevor Cohen combined to drive in four runs, and every starter except for Cameron Love had a hit. Rutgers continued to get dominating pitching as Drew Conover and Grant Besser struck out 12 Penn State batters while not allowing a run.
In the series finale, the Scarlet Knights did not hold back on their way to an 8-2 win. Cameron Love drove in two runs, and Rutgers got on the board early with five runs in the first inning. Chris Brito also continued to swing a hot bat with his second home run of the series. Over the weekend, the Scarlet Knights scored 11 runs in the first inning.
Grant Besser (‘23 Elg.) finished off the shutout for @RutgersBaseball, punching out 3 in his 2 innings of work. High-energy worked in the upper-80s (T90) mostly w/ exceptional life (2550 RPMs). Mixed in both hard SL @ 82 mph & CH w/ big side-spin traits (2200 RPMs). @PG_Scouting pic.twitter.com/6aRuLo8Fcg
— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) May 7, 2023
Due to their success, the Scarlet Knights are now the third-best team in the Big Ten. With the regular season winding down, conference wins are at a premium, with every team looking to improve their postseason positioning. After taking care of business convincingly, the Scarlet Knights will shift their focus to their series against Illinois, which starts on Friday.
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