Rutgers Baseball Returns to the Road for Series at Old Dominion

[Tango Two]

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers baseball returns to the road to meet Old Dominion in a three-game series starting Friday in Norfolk, Virginia. It will be the fourth-straight weekend traveling for the Scarlet Knights and 24th consecutive season playing the Monarchs on the diamond.

https://scarletknights.com/news/202...s-to-the-road-for-series-at-old-dominion.aspx

 

[knightfan7]

ODU beats RU 3-1

 

[knights1212]

I sure hope this isn't another losing season. Things are not looking too good so far.

 

[rutpsychward]

I dont know. I expect this team to finish with a winning record. The weekend rotation is solid. With the added bats we should be decent. The infield needs to be figured out. Maybe let dezzi dh and play owens or shulman or take welsh out. The team is striking out a ton. I know that isnt everything. However when you have very little power you shouldnt also be striking out that much. Owens is a top notch coach. We may not win this year. I really do think it ends up being a winning team just a bad couple games.

 

[80RU]

Another 13 strikeouts. So far this is our biggest issue.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

I sure hope this isn't another losing season. Things are not looking too good so far.

Anyone expecting a season over 500 this year, when we pretty much need to turn over the entire roster to get this program in motion, is going to be very disappointed.

 

[RUBOB72]

Anyone expecting a season over 500 this year, when we pretty much need to turn over the entire roster to get this program in motion, is going to be very disappointed.

You are spot on about turning the entire roster over . Owens was left with maybe 6-8 legit difference makers from Joe Litterio. I just never saw the love for Joe. For Rutgers to finish over 500 this season would require our frontline pitching to exceed expectations . I am certainly not crazy about our hitting since we see what happens when you are facing actual D-1 staffs.How do you stop the bleeding of top pitching and hitters from leaving this state rich in talented players? Number 1 thing ... finish the stadium to include night games put in the lights... concession stands and actual chair back seating ...at least along the first and third baselines... start selling to the youngsters around the state ...Fred Hill’s summer clinics and camps led to many good ball players coming to Rutgers... not sure how Litterio ran his camps ... How do St.John’s and BC do it fairly consistently...Seton Hall under Shepherd was another who didn’t have great facilities but somehow managed to get the players especially pitchers... quality coaching staffs who can recruit should make a difference... this will not be an easy fix .

 

[RUBOB72]

What’s special is both Fred Hill and Mike Sheppard Sr. both came out of Newark , Essex County NJ ... their teams competed against each other high school and American Legion teams from East Orange Clifford Scott and Seton Hall Prep and Newark’s Vailsburg American Legion Legion ... two great coaches , family men who I learned much from and respect their legacy ... having known each and played against them has made me realize the need for patience , perseverance and dedication...both tough but fair.

 

[Tango Two]

Rutgers up 5-2 in the 5th inning Saturday game

 

[80RU]

Up 7-5 going into bottom of ninth but Old Dominion gets five singles from the first six batters and wins 8-7. Parker Scott seems to be the most improved pitcher on the staff, but got touched up today.

 

[rutpsychward]

Only a few strikeouts. Tough loss. The bullpen is pretty rough. I agree scott seems to have been improved.

 

[RUBOB72]

The issue I have is our relief pitchers both short and long are not really at the point of being reliable . To be honest I don’t like our starting rotation other than perhaps Rutkowski and even he has his warts. It will take a good 2-3 seasons to get to where we need to be. We need to pull in some of the best pitchers from NJ instead of them going to southern BB factories. That is the toughest nut to crack. We had a few during Fred Hill’s years here. But since then it has been a crap shoot.

 

[RU Mike73]

RU loses 11-1 Sunday. .

 

[RUTrack94]

Swept by ODU ...

 

[RUBOB72]

I see we are pounding the ball again oh wait we lost 11-1 . Not good coach not good at all.

 

[zappaa]

I see we are pounding the ball again oh wait we lost 11-1 . Not good coach not good at all.

I know this coach was talking about changing our approach to hitting with more of an aggressive mindset.
But you’ve a got to learn how to hit defensively and keep at bats alive against good pitching.
It’s not a coincidence your hottest streaks at the plate come when you’re not striking out.
You’d be shocked at the amount of hard balls you hit on the hit and run play, where you’re #1 responsibility is to make contact

 

[Mr_Twister]

If you consider ODU’s baseball roster with our’s, it’s obvious that they are outworking us from a recruiting standpoint. Plenty of JUCOs and transfers and they are scouring the map from many different areas to build their roster and lineup, not limiting themselves to N.J. counties. Players from CA, IL, NJ, NC, WA, OH, CT, MD, SC, VA, Canada, GA, DE, PA, and IL. We have not been working as hard to put together our roster. I assume the new coach understands and recruiting is being overhauled.

https://odusports.com/sports/baseball/roster

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Well we beat Monmouth in a mid-week!

 

[RUBOB72]

I know this coach was talking about changing our approach to hitting with more of an aggressive mindset.
But you’ve a got to learn how to hit defensively and keep at bats alive against good pitching.
It’s not a coincidence your hottest streaks at the plate come when you’re not striking out.
You’d be shocked at the amount of hard balls you hit on the hit and run play, where you’re #1 responsibility is to make contact

Short to the ball is good rule of thumb...hitting a baseball is perhaps the toughest thing for someone to do... I always taught my right handed hitters to try to hit to the gap in right and vice versa with a left handed batter...hit the ball up the middle back through the pitcher.... if a player can master the discipline and bat control I believe you begin to become a better hitter overall... very few kids learn to make adjustment from one level to the next... as a pro you either adjust or any weaknesses will be exposed by the opposing teams... those that can adjust make it the rest just wash out... Either to the minors or a semi pro league...your father could hit good and bad pitches it didn’t matter...he got fooled sometimes but was a tough out...my father ( used to make me laugh ) was a fan of Yogi and the same age at the time I played against Larry Jr. ... hitting has become so much more sophisticated in the past 30 years ... would love to see some of my hero’s playing against the pitchers of today.

 

[Mr_Twister]

Some of those hero’s would do even better if they were tipped off as to what was coming ...