In the top of the ninth inning on May 4, with Maryland’s Chris and Eddie Hacopian on base and the Nittany Lions clinging onto a two-run lead, reliever Dimond Loosli faced Alex Calarco with a chance to salvage the series.
Lossli fired a first-pitch changeup, inducing a flyout to center field. The catch sealed the victory, squandering the Nittany Lions’ six-game conference losing streak and fueling them with momentum entering Piscataway, New Jersey.
Penn State and Rutgers begin a three-game set with first pitches slated for 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. All three games will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
Scouting Rutgers
Unlike Penn State’s offense centered around power, the Scarlet Knights are a station-to-station team. Through 49 games, they rank last in the Big Ten in slugging percentage and OPS, hindered by their lack of pop. While Rutgers sits toward the middle of the pack in triples and doubles — placing 10th and 12th respectively — it lags far behind in home runs with the fewest in the conference.
The Scarlet Knights’ 32 long balls are an eye-catching 14 fewer than the second-worst Spartans, while first-ranked Oregon sits atop the Big Ten with 58 more.
Rutgers’ offense is headlined by outfielder Trevor Cohen and infielder Ty Douchette. Cohen, the former No. 1 overall outfielding recruit in New Jersey by Prep Baseball Report, is slashing .368/.437/.483. The junior is boasting multiple career highs with a .368 batting average, 74 hits, 18 doubles, a .483 slugging percentage and a .437 on-base percentage, while recording a career-low in strikeouts with just 13. His batting average ranks fifth in the Big Ten.
Paired with Cohen, Douchette is the only other Scarlet Knight hitting above .300. His .335 batting average sits 18th in the conference, while his .517 slugging leads the team.
On the opposite side of the diamond, Rutgers has had a troubling season on the mound. Its 5.65 ERA ranks 11th in the Big Ten, just 0.33 points ahead of 12th-place Penn State. The struggling staff consists of only three pitchers with a sub-3.00 ERA, and four reaching the double-digit plateau.
Right handed pitcher Mason Butash (11) pitches the ball during the Penn State baseball game against West Virginia at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions beat the Mountaineers 3-2.
The Scarlet Knights’ arms most glaring issue is their struggle to find the zone. They’ve allowed the fourth-most walks in the conference with 241 and sport the fourth-highest walks per nine innings at 5.2. Rutgers’ 1.60 WHIP ranks sixth-worst and .270 batting-average against sits 10th.
Despite the struggles on the mound, Rutgers boasts a 97.9% fielding percentage, tied with three other clubs for the highest in the Big Ten.
Even with the Scarlet Knights’ season-long hardships, Penn State will have its hands full in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers is a dominant team on home turf, sporting a 15-7 record and owners of a four-game home winning streak.
Keys for Penn State
Penn State and Rutgers are positioned closely in a majority of team statistics but the blue and white has a clear offensive edge.
The Nittany Lions rank top 10 in on-base percentage, slugging, OPS and total bases, along with sitting fourth in the Big Ten in home runs. With the Scarlet Knights’ pitching woes, an offensive outburst by the blue and white is its most likely path to victory.
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