Pitt baseball takes on Rutgers in weekend series

Pitt's baseball team looks to stay hot this weekend with a series against Rutgers.

After being swept by South Florida a few weeks ago, Pitt has been on a roll. The Panthers went on to win six straight games, including three against No. 16 ranked Notre Dame. The team dropped their last game to Coppin State this week, but has been playing excellent baseball since those games against the Bulls.

Rutgers comes in with a modest 18-16 record. But they're currently tied for third in the Big East standings at 8-4 with ...the Panthers. The Scarlet Knights have faced some pretty good teams this year and fared okay. They were soundly swept by ranked Georgia Tech earlier in the year, but handed Louisville two of their seven losses, winning the series. Rutgers also enters the series on a roll, having won four of their past five games.

One interesting story to watch is that of Pitt starting pitcher Rhys Aldenhoven. Aldenhoven suffered an injury in a game against Notre Dame last weekend and may not be able to pitch this weekend. As of Thursday, he wasn't listed as the probable pitcher on his scheduled day. If he can't go, that would be a blow to the team. Aldenhoven has been an incredible starter, leading the three-man rotation of himself, Ethan Mildren, and Matt Wotherspoon, in ERA (2.23) and wins (six). He's also the only one of the group still unbeaten. Pitt can win the series without him, but I'd like the team's chances better if he's able to pitch.

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