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RU Baseball weekend series vs NW:today 2pm, Sat 2, Sun11

Abro1975

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Rain delay for first game, now looking like 2pm.

Huge weekend series for RU's BIG10 Tournament hopes. With 6 games to go, 3 against NW and 3 against a tough Indiana team, the pressure mounts for RU to win at least 2 out of 3 this weekend for a realistic chance of making the playoffs (top 8 teams). RU is currently in 7th with a 8-9 conference record, with NW right behind at 8-10. There are 8 teams bunched with records from 11-7 to 7-11 fighting for the last 5 spots.

Big 10 Standings and team schedules :https://bigten.org/confstandings.aspx/2018-19/base?path=baseball

This weekend series against NW :

Friday : Harry Rutkowski (2-4, 3.37 ERA) vs Northwestern - LHP Ryan Bader (2-3, 4.89 ERA)

Saturday: Tevin Murray (4-3, 2.58 ERA) vs Northwestern - RHP Mike Doherty (3-1, 4.76 ERA)

Sunday: Tommy Genuario (2-4, 2.75 ERA)d vs Northwestern - TBD

Tevin Murray has quietyly become one of the top pitchers in the Big10, his ERA is about 6th in the conference. James Kratch of NJcom has an excellent article on him going to play summer ball in Alaska , and how much it helped him playing against great competition:

https://www.nj.com/sports/2019/05/h...big-ten-pitcher-of-the-year-honors-video.html

Join @RUAthletics next Saturday, 5/11 for a Memorial Celebration honoring the life, legacy and contributions of the Scarlet Knights former Head Coach, Fred Hill, prior to the @RutgersBaseball game vs. Northwestern.

Full story w links to follow and video interviews:

https://scarletknights.com/news/2019/5/9/baseball-closes-home-schedule-facing-northwestern.aspx
 
RU season almost over. With 2 outs in the top of the 7th, RU gives up 5 runs with NW still batting. Rutkowski was lifted after giving up 2, French , the mid reliever with the ERA of 8.5/runs per game, came in and never get anyone out, letting in another run or 2, Brito the closer comes in and gets lit up. 10 guys come to plate after getting 2 outs. Oy vey.
 
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I checked the score at three - 0 only to comeback to this. How do you bring in a guy with an era of 8.5. Pathetic
 
I told you guys we would be lucky to win two of our last six games, in conference play, and this was one we needed to take. We might get swept both weekends.
 
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We just gave away another game. It seems like for the last 4 years or so we don't play hard enough to make the BIG Tournament. A repeat of last year once again. We need better hitters and pitchers. This was really pathetic. Even the announcers said we just gave the game away. We had chances to tack on runs after leading 3-0 but it seems no one can get a big hit.
 
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We just gave away another game. It seems like for the last 4 years or so we don't play hard enough to make the BIG Tournament. A repeat of last year once again. We need better hitters and pitchers. This was really pathetic. Even the announcers said we just gave the game away. We had chances to tack on runs after leading 3-0 but it seems no one can get a big hit.
Need to RUN. Be aggressive in unexpected situations. Challenge with leads,etc,etc, Especially if you're not a good hitting ball club. Foreign to this guy & in baseball in general. For example, what the hell is a safety lead off 2nd, which all clubs teach? It's a safe lead as the name states. No pressure on the infielders, no pressure on the pitcher[He can concentrate & just play pitch & catch with the catcher.] And so it goes.
 
Need to RUN. Be aggressive in unexpected situations. Challenge with leads,etc,etc, Especially if you're not a good hitting ball club. Foreign to this guy & in baseball in general. For example, what the hell is a safety lead off 2nd, which all clubs teach? It's a safe lead as the name states. No pressure on the infielders, no pressure on the pitcher[He can concentrate & just play pitch & catch with the catcher.] And so it goes.
You always say this – – but he does run a lot more than his opponent – – about 40% more this year.
 
Very weak hitting team due to poor recruiting. Not enough quality pitchers, due to weak recruiting. How do you not let Serruto hit for one of those weak hitters at the end of the lineup when you have men on base?
 
How do you miss the B1G tournament when you guys Rutkowski and Murray pitching the way they pitch. It’s really pathetic how bad of a hitting team we are
 
How do you miss the B1G tournament when you guys Rutkowski and Murray pitching the way they pitch. It’s really pathetic how bad of a hitting team we are


Rutkowski isn't the same pitcher he was earlier in the season He's tiring earlier and earlier as the season goes on. With such bad middle relief , Litterio is sticking letting him go longer than he should, but he has no good options. That's his fault for poor recruiting.
One thing I don't understand , is not using Rutkowski as pinch hitter or DH on his off days. He was one of the best sluggers in NJ coming out of HS, if not The Best slugger. This team has so few power hitters as it is.
 
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Rutgers Scarlet Knights Retweeted Rutgers Baseball
Due to Sunday’s weather forecast, @RutgersBaseball will play a doubleheader beginning at 11am on Saturday.

Fred Hill Memorial Celebration will remain at noon. Senior Day Ceremony to be held at the conclusion of the doubleheader.

https://twitter.com/rutgersbaseball?lang=en
 
Basically RU has to sweep today and miraculously take a game vs Indiana. I honestly think Litterio is a dead man walking and will be heading to the unemployment line shortly after RU misses the B1G Tourney.
 
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It's time to move on in baseball. No way this team should be this bad given the talent in the state.
Isn't this pretty much the case with all of our teams???
The real problem is, and always has been, one of RU being perceived as a bad choice for the state's top athletes.
So, our athletics are between the rock and a hard place by needing better players in order to win but needing first to win without them.
 
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Tevin Murray on the mound today. He’s developed as one of the best pitchers in that conference and should be drafted next month. Scouts at every game he pitches.
 
NW up 2-0 , RU coming to bat bottom 4. NW benefited from an error by our SS and our LF couldn’t make a tough catch.
 
Just got home from the first game.
I think RU is now all but mathematically eliminated. Only winning the 2nd game of this DH and then sweeping next weekend, probably gets them in, and the way they are hitting (poorly) I do not see that happening , especially with the good Indiana opponent, at Indiana , next weekend.

The highlight of the relatively dull 1st game was having some RU softball players sit next to us for the last few innings. I'm sure they could tell what smart and witty fans Fire and I were and decided to plop down by us and listen in, lol
One of them was last weeks Big10 Player of the Week, Anyssa Iliopoulos , who told us she will be playing with the Greek National team this summer, in Olympic Qualifying games, hoping that the Greek team can win their bracket or section and qualify for the next Olympics. We chatted about the Purdue game last night, and the new coach, who they both had nothing but good things to say about playing for. I didn't catch the other players' name, she said she would be coaching this summer. Very nice ladies.

PS- in the 2nd game, RU is up 5-1 in the 6th. Probably too little too late.
 
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After the first game RU had not scored in 14 innings. That is horrible. As for Rutkowski I said it several times last year & this year that he should be a DH when he is not hitting. He led the entire state in home runs at Woodbridge in 2017. I think he hit 15 in 2017. We have no real home run hitters. I did not get it last year and I still don't get it.
 
After the first game RU had not scored in 14 innings. That is horrible. As for Rutkowski I said it several times last year & this year that he should be a DH when he is not hitting. He led the entire state in home runs at Woodbridge in 2017. I think he hit 15 in 2017. We have no real home run hitters. I did not get it last year and I still don't get it.
I wonder if it’s one of those things where he’s just focussing on a pitching career. If that’s not it, then he really should be hitting
 
I was surprised how many NW fans were there, A LOT ! Almost equal to the number of RU fans.

Also surprised that nothing over the loudspeaker was said about the Fred Hill Ceremony. We sat behind Homeplate, and then moved to the bleacher by 3rd base as the loud speaker behind home plate was playing ear splitting music, we left after the first game around 1:30 and the Ceremony was supposed to be around Noon, but nothing was said. We saw a big tent set up on the Left Center Field Grassy knoll area, with about 50 folks out there, so maybe they had their own little quiet ceremony. Kind of strange, though.
 
Isn't this pretty much the case with all of our teams???
The real problem is, and always has been, one of RU being perceived as a bad choice for the state's top athletes.
So, our athletics are between the rock and a hard place by needing better players in order to win but needing first to win without them.
Its the Catch 22 scenario where Rutgers teams don't win enough to attract higher level recruits and the end result is stagnation and fans rehashing year after what could be but rarely does happen.
 
Isn't this pretty much the case with all of our teams???
The real problem is, and always has been, one of RU being perceived as a bad choice for the state's top athletes.
So, our athletics are between the rock and a hard place by needing better players in order to win but needing first to win without them.
Women’s soccer doesn’t seem to have an issue.
 
Just got home from the first game.
I think RU is now all but mathematically eliminated. Only winning the 2nd game of this DH and then sweeping next weekend, probably gets them in, and the way they are hitting (poorly) I do not see that happening , especially with the good Indiana opponent, at Indiana , next weekend.

The highlight of the relatively dull 1st game was having some RU softball players sit next to us for the last few innings. I'm sure they could tell what smart and witty fans Fire and I were and decided to plop down by us and listen in, lol
One of them was last weeks Big10 Player of the Week, Anyssa Iliopoulos , who told us she will be playing with the Greek National team this summer, in Olympic Qualifying games, hoping that the Greek team can win their bracket or section and qualify for the next Olympics. We chatted about the Purdue game last night, and the new coach, who they both had nothing but good things to say about playing for. I didn't catch the other players' name, she said she would be coaching this summer. Very nice ladies.

PS- in the 2nd game, RU is up 5-1 in the 6th. Probably too little too late.
If Maryland loses today on the road, and Maryland, Ohio State and RU all go 1-2 next weekend, RU is in— that is hardly “almost mathematically eliminated.”
 
Isn't this pretty much the case with all of our teams???
The real problem is, and always has been, one of RU being perceived as a bad choice for the state's top athletes.
So, our athletics are between the rock and a hard place by needing better players in order to win but needing first to win without them.
Its the Catch 22 scenario where Rutgers teams don't win enough to attract higher level recruits and the end result is stagnation and fans rehashing year after what could be but rarely does happen.


Folks, you need to take the time to read this board a little more closely or follow other teams’ results ? Putting football aside, this was a very strong year for our teams. Solid finishes in tourneys and standings. The struggles have been with football, men’s soccer, volleyball, wlax, and baseball. And guess what? Two coaches have been replaced already. Will baseball?? The remaining teams across all three seasons for the most part have had solid seasons with bright futures. This should be reported more but it’s not. And it certainly doesn’t fit the narrative and agenda of many posters on this board. And it certainly doesn’t fit the national media’s narrative. There has been plenty of winning this year, folks like you just have to take the time to actually show interest and acknowledge it.
 
With the Maryland loss on Sunday, RU just needs to finish with the same weekend record as both Maryland and Ohio State. If one of them does better this weekend, RU can still get in if it does a game better than Northwestern. The rain out against Penn State and getting screwed out of a win in the third game against Michigan really hurt.

If they do get in, and manage to make a run, it might be the most interesting baseball story since this: http://www.thisgreatgame.com/1906-baseball-history.html
 
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