ContestsEvents

LISTEN LIVE

Rutgers Baseball Left Out of NCAA Tournament

There are sometimes in sports when eyebrows are raised. And this is one of those times. The 2022 Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball team, a program that won a record 45…

Danny DiGeorgio

Rutgers’ Danny DiGeorgio had a big day for Rutgers collecting four hits, and driving in three in a 10-4 win over Iowa. April 24, 2022.

There are sometimes in sports when eyebrows are raised. And this is one of those times.

The 2022 Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball team, a program that won a record 45 games, rolled through the Big Ten in the regular season with a record of 17-7, and ran all the way to the Big Ten title game will not make it to the NCAA Tournament. It was a surprising move to many.

As has been pointed out by many publications, Rutgers was considered a team that would make the tournament this season, its first bid since 2007.  By Memorial Day Monday, they were out simply because they lost the automatic bid by losing to Michigan in the Big Ten title game.

NJ.com suggested that Rutgers' "low RPI" of 42 and a "weak non-conference slate" may have played a role in keeping the Scarlet Knights out of the dance this summer. Only two Big Ten teams qualified for the tournament: Michigan, who beat Rutgers 10-4 on Sunday night, and Maryland, who was the number 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament going in.

How good was this year's Scarlet Knights team? Here are the numbers from NJ.com: "The Scarlet Knights led Division I baseball in runs scored per game (9.7) and rank among the best teams in the nation in a number of other offensive categories, including doubles (second nationally), hits (third), batting average (fifth), slugging percentage (eighth), on-base percentage (11th) and home runs (17th)."

Senior catcher Nick Cimilio was 18th in the nation in slugging percentage .707 and 23rd in on-base percentage .492. Five players had double-digits in home runs with Cimilio and Chris Brito tied for the team lead with 16. Grad student Nathan Florence was one of the best pitchers in the Big Ten with a 3.36 ERA in 15 starts and a record of 6-2.

Michael Cohen is the News and Sports Director at Fox Sports Radio New Jersey and Magic 98.3 FM, as well as a radio production assistant with Fox and Magic in New Jersey. He started his career in Somerset in 2018 initially as a news fill-in at WCTC 1450 AM, and soon moved up to higher responsibilities in the ensuing years, assuming News & Sports Director title in 2021Prior to his time with Fox Sports New Jersey, Michael was play-by-play voice for New Jersey Jackals baseball, and as well as play-by-play and color for the College of Staten Island basketball (men and women), softball and baseball. Michael began his career as a news and sportswriter with the Jersey Journal of Hudson County.