Rutgers freshman Jaren Matthews, Big East Baseball player of the week

Media Release

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers freshman first baseman Jaren Matthews (Teaneck, N.J.) was named the BIG EAST Baseball Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday.

Matthews earns his first collegiate honor after enjoying a .412 batting average with an .882 slugging percentage in five games last week. The freshman had three doubles, a triple and a home run and drove in 10 runs last week. In the series-opening victory over West Virginia, Matthews had a pair of doubles. He came up with the bases loaded in the second and cleared them with a three-run double to left-center field. Later in the game, he hit his second double and came around to score. In Saturday\’s victory over WVU, Matthews drove in four runs. He hit his fourth home run of the season in the sixth and, in the seventh, with the bases loaded, he hit another three-run double to right-center field. In Sunday\’s game, the freshman was walked three times, with one intentional base on balls. In a Tuesday win over Rider, Matthews drove in three runs and scored the game-winning run in a 4-3 victory over the Broncs. He tripled to drive in his third run in the eighth to tie it and scored the go-ahead run later in the inning.

The freshman has started all 22 games at first base and has hit No. 5 in the Scarlet Knights\’ order all season. He ranks fourth on the Scarlet Knights in hitting and leads the team in home runs. He ranks sixth in the BIG EAST with 26 runs batted in and leads the conference with 11 RBI during league action.

Rutgers, 8-14 overall and 2-4 in the BIG EAST this season, won its first series of the season with two victories in its three-game series against West Virginia at Bainton Field. The Scarlet Knights split their midweek games against Rider (won 4-3) and Princeton (lost 1-0).

He is the second Scarlet Knight to be honored with one of the league\’s weekly honors this season. Sophomore Casey Gaynor (Toms River, N.J.) was named the inaugural BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week for the 2008 season on Feb. 25.

Rutgers will conclude its nine-game homestand with a Tuesday contest against Wagner at 3:30 p.m.