Early season woes paying big dividends
Poised to win their first game of the season, the Rutgers baseball team was one out from upsetting Miami — the then-No. 12 team in the country — right in the Hurricanes' backyard.
But it wasn't meant to be.
A three-run walk off a home run in the bottom of the ninth stole the victory from the Scarlet Knights' grasp and induced a slide that caused Rutgers to limp into their first home game.
Sweeps at the hands of Miami and Georgia Tech, now ranked third in the nation, along with a tough outing at the Big Ten/ Big East Challenge, left the Knights with a 1-8 record to start off the year.
But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
"We started the year off facing some of the best pitchers in the nation," said senior outfielder Jarred Jimenez. "Nobody that was pitching to us was throwing under 90 miles per hour. But that really prepared us for the rest of the season, and the transition boosted us."
After the Georgia Tech debacle, Rutgers won 11 of their last 13 games and are over .500 for the first time this season with a 12-10 record.
A lot of their current success is attributed to facing the top-tier talent they saw to kick off the year.
"It really put things into perspective for us," said freshman Steve Nyisztor. "We faced some of the nation's best teams and it really prepared us to face teams that maybe aren't as strong."
The second baseman and his fellow Knights took care of one of those weaker opponents last weekend when the team traveled to Georgetown, taking the bark out of the Hoyas with a convincing three-game sweep.
Nyisztor almost won Sunday's game single handedly with a grand slam in the third inning that accounted for nearly all his team's runs in the 5-3 victory. The Big East named Nyisztor to its Weekly Honor Roll for his efforts.
"The sweep was really big for us," the Toms River North product said. "It's hard to beat a team three times in a row, and we really battled in all three games — none of them were easy wins. Now we have some momentum going forward and we have to continue playing hard."
As a third-year starter, first baseman Jaren Matthews understands the importance of getting off on the right foot in the Big East.
"We have a lot of confidence at the moment," the junior said. "We are at the top of the Big East standings. It's still early, but we are where we want to be and now we have to work on staying there."
The next step in returning to Big East prominence comes in the conference home opener today against No. 24 Pittsburgh. The Panthers prove to be a more formidable opponent than the Hoyas, entering the weekend series with an 18-4 record. They are 3-0 in the Big East.
"It's too early to tell where we fall in the conference this year," said head coach Fred Hill Sr. "You can go out and lose three just as quickly as you can win three. I think if we battle hard against Pitt and win some games, then Rutgers will be back to where it should have been the past couple of years."
The three pitchers that will take the mound against the Knights own a combined record of 14-0 with ERAs all under 3.00. But it's not like Rutgers hasn't faced tough pitchers yet this season, and a quick look at the Panthers' schedule raises an eyebrow at the true meaning behind those numbers.
Pitt scheduled their opening to the season against opponents such as SUNY Albany, Youngstown State and Fordham. These are teams any Big East squad should put away easily compared to the caliber of opponents the Knights' faced early on.
Last year, Rutgers traveled to Pittsburgh and came back with only one win out of three games played.
Although he doesn't believe that a home-field advantage makes a difference against a team like Pitt, Matthews likes his team's chances more this time around.
"We are a totally different team than last year," he said. "As long as we play the way we have been playing recently and execute, we can win these games."
