Rutgers baseball heads to South Carolina for Swig & Swine Classic
The Rutgers baseball team will travel down to South Carolina this weekend to play in the Swig and Swine Classic, hosted at Shipyard Park in Charleston. The Scarlet Knights (1-2, 0-0) are 1 of 6 teams participating in the tournament and are set to play three games over the weekend, starting tomorrow.
Rutgers is coming from its weekend at Campbell, where it only won the last of its three games. The Sunday afternoon matchup was the best performance from the Knights so far, racking up 16 runs to the Camels' (3-1, 0-0) 3 runs.
Freshman outfielder Trevor Cohen had the most notable weekend, batting .727 in his first three collegiate games and collecting six runs batted in (RBIs), five of which came in Sunday's game. He was awarded the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his stellar performance, which is an honor that has not been awarded to a Rutgers player since 2021.
The Knights will kick off in South Carolina tomorrow evening against Canisius, who will be playing its first game of the season against Rutgers. The Golden Griffins (0-0, 0-0) had an overall record of 29-25 and a conference record of 15-9 last season and made it to the NCAA College Baseball Championship. They lost both their bouts to Miami and Arizona, leading to their elimination.
Rutgers will meet two other teams in Shipyard Park over the weekend. The Knights and Ball State will take the noon slot on Saturday for their matchup. The Cardinals (1-3, 0-0) are on a three-game losing streak after facing Charlotte last weekend and after coming off a crushing 19-5 defeat. This game will present a perfect opportunity for Rutgers, a team coming off a big win, to strike against a team coming off a tough loss and end to its opening series.
The Knights will close their time at the Swig and Swine Classic on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Boston College. The Eagles (2-1, 0-0) are coming off a winning series against Pepperdine. They took their last game against the Waves (1-3, 0-0) in stride as Boston College outscored Pepperdine 18-6 with its offense igniting. Cohl Mercado had four singles and four RBIs in the 18-run demolition.
Rutgers will be looking to come out swinging in this tournament in order to combat its unfavorable performances last weekend against Campbell. The Knights only scored 5 runs in their first two games against the Camels and were shut out for only two hits in its second game against Campbell.
Specifically, Rutgers will need its typical offensive stars, including junior outfielder Ryan Lasko and senior infielder Chris Brito, to shine for the team to obtain its first winning record of the season.
The Swig and Swine Classic will kick off for the Knights tomorrow when they face the Golden Griffins. All games will be available to stream on HiCast, with live stats presented by StatBroadcast.
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