WEEK 12 STATS: 4 games, .714 BA (10-for-14), 2B, 2 BB, HBP, 7 R, 4 RBI, .786 OBP
Ruta hit more than 100 points higher than any other Northeast Conference player last week. Powering Wagner to a four-game sweep of defending NEC champion Sacred Heart, the senior right-fielder batted .714 (10-for-14) with seven runs scored, four RBI and two walks. Helping the Seahawks stay in contention for the final NEC Tournament berth, Ruta accounted for a .786 on-base percentage while averaging 2.5 hits and 1.75 runs per contest. The Garden State product reached base safely no fewer than three times and drove in one run in each of Wagner’s four victories over the second-place Pioneers. Ruta enjoyed a 4-for-4 showing at the plate during the series opener against Sacred Heart. He started the scoring for the Seahawks by connecting on a one-out RBI single in the first inning of the eventual 7-2 triumph. Ruta broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning of the opener, leading off with an infield single and eventually coming around to score an unearned run. He opened the scoring again for Wagner in Game 2, chasing home the tying run with an one-out single in the bottom half of the first frame. Ruta’s stick was also responsible for driving home the Seahawks’ first run in Game 3. For the fourth game in a row, Ruta took Wagner’s zero off the scoreboard. With the Seahawks facing a 3-0 deficit in the fifth inning of the series finale, Ruta delivered a RBI single to centerfield to kick off the comeback effort in the eventual 6-4 win.