The Rutgers baseball team swept Illinois during a three-game series during the first weekend of May.
Game 1: Rutgers 9, Illinois 7
In the first game, Illinois took an early lead with a three-run homer by Collin Jennings in the top of the first inning. Rutgers responded with a solo home run from Ty Doucette in the bottom of the first. The Scarlet Knights continued to chip away at the Illini lead, tying the game in the fourth inning with an RBI triple. Illinois then regained the lead in the top of the fifth, but Rutgers continued to fight, scoring four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Illinois then tied the game in the sixth with a three-run home run by Cameron Chee-Aloy. Rutgers regained the lead in the bottom half of the sixth with an RBI single and held on the rest of the way to end the game with a 9-7 win.
Game 2: Rutgers 7, Illinois 5
In the second game of the weekend, Rutgers came out strong. The Scarlet Knights robbed the Illini of an early homerun in the top of the first inning before scoring two runs bottom in the home half of the inning. Jumping to the bottom of the third inning, Pablo Santos grabbed another RBI, bringing two more runners across the plate to make it 4-0. Rutgers pitcher Justin Shadek had three strikeouts heading into the fourth before being replaced by Ryan Bradley on the mound. Bradley stepped in and induced a double play to end the top of the fourth, with Illinois only getting one run. Rutgers got back out there in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run extra-base hit from Santos. The Illini, however, were not out of this game. In the sixth inning, Illinois came back to make the score 6-5 in favor of the Scarlet Knights. With a double play, a steal of home, and a scoreless inning from Illinois in the eighth inning, Rutgers put the game away, finishing with a 7-5 win.
Game 3: Rutgers 12, Illinois 5
In their final match-up on May 3, Rutgers capped the series sweep over Illinois. The Scarlet Knights delivered to finish the series with four scoreless innings with a convincing 12-5 victory. Rutgers started hot with six runs in the first two innings, including a double and three singles. The Scarlet Knights had multiple great hits on the day and got excellent performances on the mound from their relievers.
Rutgers improves to 24-24 on the season and 12-12 in the Big Ten, while Illinois falls to 26-19. The Scarlet Knights’ next game is at home against Rider University on May 7 at 6 p.m.
