Rutgers Baseball Battles Through Keith LeClair Classic

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The Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball team made the trip to Greenville, North Carolina for the Keith LeClair Classic, coming away with one win in a three-game stretch. They were mercy-ruled by East Carolina, bludgeoned Western Carolina, and then dropped a tight pitchers' duel to Troy.

Why it matters

The weekend in Greenville showcased the highs and lows of early-season baseball for Rutgers, as the team's offense swung between explosive and quiet, and the pitching staff showed flashes of dominance but also endured rough stretches. Consistency remains the missing piece as the Scarlet Knights look to find their footing before Big Ten play heats up.

The details

On Sunday, Troy's Jimmy Janicki connected for a solo home run in the second at-bat of the game, giving the Trojans a 1-0 lead. Rutgers' pitching staff then locked in, with freshman Chris Sand, graduate student Joe Mazza, and senior Vincent Borghese combining to keep Troy largely contained. Rutgers scratched across a run in the eighth to tie the game, but Caden Reeves delivered an RBI single off Borghese in the top of the ninth that proved to be the difference, as Rutgers fell 2-1.

• The Rutgers Scarlet Knights were mercy-ruled by the East Carolina Pirates on Friday.
• On Saturday, Rutgers earned a 9-3 victory over Western Carolina, launching six home runs in the game.
• Sunday's finale against Troy resulted in a 2-1 loss for Rutgers.

What’s next

Rutgers now sits at 5-5, having lost four of its last five games after that earlier four-game winning streak. The team will look to find more consistency as it heads back to New Jersey and prepares for its first homestand of the season, opening with a midweek matchup against the Georgetown Hoyas on Tuesday.