PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 8 Rutgers put up nine runs in the first four innings en route to a 10-4 victory over the University of Iowa baseball team on Sunday afternoon at Bainton Field. The Hawkeyes won two of three games during the three-game series.
Rutgers’ win snaps Iowa’s season-long seven-game winning streak. Iowa now sits at 23-13 overall, 8-4 in the Big Ten heading into Tuesday’s midweek game against Western Illinois.
The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on an Izaya Fullard RBI single through the left side, but Rutgers answered in a big way. The Scarlet Knights scored three in the first and chased Iowa starter Ty Langenberg from the game just eight batters into the game.
Rutgers pushed its lead to 5-0 on a Danny DiGeorgio two-run double in the second off redshirt junior Duncan Davitt, they scored one in the third and three more in the fourth (on a two-out rally) to push the lead to 9-3. Iowa scored single runs in the third and fourth on a Fullard RBI single and a Rutgers balk.
After Rutgers made it 10-4 with one run in the bottom of the eighth, Iowa plated its fourth run in the top of the ninth. Sophomore Michael Seegers doubled and scored on Keaton Anthony’s RBI single to right field.
QUOTING COACH HELLER
“We didn’t pitch well in first four innings and they swung it well today early, too. We weren’t very good on mound early and fell behind. We tried to scratch back in but didn’t have a shutdown inning. We settled it down from fifth to the eighth and had a couple of opportunities but didn’t get the hit.
“Rutgers played well today and beat us.”
OF NOTE…
Fullard finished with a season-high three hits. He finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Seegers and Anthony also tallied multi-hit games as the trio accounted for seven of Iowa’s 12 hits.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will host Western Illinois in a midweek game Tuesday at Duane Banks Field. The game is set to begin at 6:05 p.m. (CT).
