On Friday, Rutgers baseball ended their four-game losing streak, defeating Delaware 15-10 in game one. With the game tied at 10-10 in the top of the eighth inning, Rutgers first baseman Ty Doucette produced a grand slam to secure the Scarlet Knights’ victory.
With the win, Rutgers improves to 11-6 on the season.
The Blue Hens jumped out to an early lead in game one when they registered a SAC fly and a single to left field to grab an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Scarlet Knights got on the board in the top of the second inning when Pete Durocher scored on a wild pitch to cut Delaware’s lead to one. In the bottom of the second, the Blue Hens added another run on the board when catcher Tyler Leach produced a solo blast to extend Delaware’s lead to 3-1.
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Rutgers’ bats came alive in the top of the third inning as they exploded for four runs to take the lead. Rutgers right fielder Trevor Cohen, third baseman Tony Santa Maria, and shortstop Josh Kuroda-Grauer recorded doubles as Doucette recorded a single down the left field line to give Rutgers a 5-3 lead.
TY DOUCETTE GRAND SLAM FOR THE LEAD!!
Delaware intentionally walks the bases loaded and Ty makes them pay!#TCD pic.twitter.com/cNVJ0C71CZ
— Rutgers Baseball (@RutgersBaseball) March 15, 2024
After a scoreless bottom of the third for the Blue Hens, Rutgers added another run in the top of the fourth when Kuroda-Grauer singled to center field, scoring center fielder RJ Johnson Jr.
The Blue Hens came roaring back in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring three runs to tie the game at 6-6. The Scarlet Knights grabbed the lead in the top of the sixth inning when Santa Maria homered to right field and Durocher produced a SAC fly to give Rutgers a 9-6 advantage. Delaware cut Rutgers’ lead to two in the bottom half when Leach registered his second home run.
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The Scarlet Knights extended the lead to three, but the Blue Hens tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with two home runs by Joey Loynd and Andrew Amato.
RU took control of the game in the eighth inning when Doucette recorded a grand slam to give the Scarlet Knights a four-run lead. The Rutgers first baseman logged five RBIs in game one with two hits throughout his five at-bats. The Scarlet Knights added another insurance run in the top of the ninth inning to secure their game-one victory.
Rutgers baseball returns to action on Saturday with the first pitch set at 2 PM in Newark, Delaware.