Rutgers landed a third pitcher out of the transfer portal on Tuesday. St. John’s hurler Sonny Fauci announced on Twitter he was coming back to his home state.
The Old Bridge, New Jersey native made 11 starts over 14 appearances, finishing with a 3-2 record and a 5.13 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched last season. Fauci struck out 41 batters while walking 33.
Fauci had Tommy John surgery in 2021 after just four appearances. He returned for eight appearances in 2022 including three starts. As a freshman, he only made five appearances during a Covid shortened season.
As a senior at Old Bridge High School, Fauci was named NJ.com Greater Middlesex Conference Player of the Year as a senior. He led the Knights to a GMC Tournament Championship after allowing just five earned runs in 67 innings pitched.
Rutgers previously added Hamilton College transfer Jack Eshleman, who was announced last week. The Division III hurler made seven starts finishing with a 3-0 record, an 1.14 ERA, 0.51 WHIP, 51 strikeouts and just three walks in 31.2 innings pitched. He allowed just 13 hits and opponents batted just .123 against him.
In addition, Old Dominion transfer Joey DeChiaro announced last Friday that he was returning home as well. The Flemington native was a useful reliever for the Monarchs last season. Over his last four appearances of the season, he allowed just two hits without a run in five innings pitched.
Seven pitchers from last season are currently in the transfer portal. The most notable are relievers Sam Bello, Garrett French, and Grant Besser, who combined to throw over 97 innings. Expect head coach Steve Owens and pitching coach Brendan Monaghan to continue to add hurlers through the transfer portal for next season. Stay tuned.
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pj43
June 21, 2023 at 4:17 pm
Well, Owens pitching replacement remains on track via the transfer portal and if I’m correct I see the ’23 class has 5 pitching recruits with 3 in the ’24 class, so far. Hopefully, it shakes out in the end as a nice upgrade in overall pitching.