THE BASICS:
 
- Score: MIT - 2, Rutgers Newark - 1

- Records: MIT (1-0), Rutgers Newark (2-3)

- Location: Newark, N.J. (Weequahic Park)

- The Lead: The MIT baseball team opened the 2024 season with a 2-1 road win over Rutgers Newark on Saturday night. The Engineers pitching staff struck out 15 batters and gave up just six hits in the game, which was moved back to an 8 p.m. start due to rain.

HOW IT HAPPENED

- Rutgers Newark looked to score an early run as they had runners on first and second with no outs in the top of the first. MIT then threw out Paul Recchia trying to steal, and senior Karl Meyer (Indianapolis, Ind.) retired the next two batters.
 
- Sophomore Lawrence Tang (Hopkinton, Mass.) reached in an error to open the third inning and came around to score on a double from senior Tyler Godfrey (Rowley, Mass.) for the first run of the day.
 
- Godfrey knocked in his second run of the game as his sacrifice fly in the seventh plated sophomore Zev Moore (Jerusalem, Israel) to make it 2-0.
 
- The Scarlet Raiders made it a one-run game on an RBI double from Matthew Storch in the eighth. Junior Brian Rapanan (Gurnee, Ill.) retired the next two batters to keep the Engineers in the lead.
 
- Rapanan struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to secure the 2-1 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Meyer went the first five and allowed four hits and struck out seven to earn his first win of the season.
 
- Sophomore Cole Foster (Austin, Texas) pitched a perfect sixth with two strikeouts while Rapanan earned the save with three innings of two-hit ball. He struck out six, did not walk anyone, and gave up just one run on two hits.
 
- Zev Moore and senior Teddy Schoenfeld (Boulder, Colo.) led MIT with two hits each in the game.
 
UP NEXT:

-  The Engineers are back on the field tomorrow for a 12:00 p.m. tilt against at Stevens.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
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