EVANSTON, Ill. (Interstat) — Charlie Meglio drove in three runs and Chase Krewson hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning as Rutgers defeated Northwestern 15-9 on Saturday afternoon at Rocky Miller Park.

The Scarlet Knights improved to 26-28 overall and 10-14 in Big Ten play after earning a split in the three-game series. The Wildcats fell to 21-30-1 and 9-14.

Rutgers took control early, scoring once in the first inning and three times in the fourth to build a 4-0 lead. The offense exploded for five runs in the fifth, punctuated by Meglio’s RBI double and a two-run single from Matthew Chatelle. The Knights added a run in the sixth and another in the seventh to go up 11-2.

Northwestern mounted a comeback in the bottom of the eighth. Center fielder Jack Lausch led off with a solo home run. After a double by Nick Barron, designated hitter D’E Groot drove in Barron with a double. Jake Yang followed with a two-run double, and James Kaplan added an RBI single to cut the deficit to 11-7.

The most important sequence of the game came in the top of the ninth. With Chatelle on third after a walk and a double by pinch-hitter Pete Salinas, Krewson crushed a three-run homer to left field, pushing the Rutgers lead to 14-7. Jared Carreras later singled home a run to make it 15-7. The homer by Krewson, who finished 1 for 5 with three RBIs, restored the Knights’ cushion after the Wildcats had seized momentum.

Northwestern continued to fight in the bottom of the ninth. Lausch hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot to right. Barron added an RBI double to make it 15-9, but reliever Ryan Savinon retired the next three batters to end the game.

Lausch led the Wildcats, going 2 for 5 with two homers and two RBIs. Barron went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Yang was 2 for 4 with three RBIs.

For Rutgers, Meglio went 2 for 6 with a triple, a double and three RBIs. Chatelle had two hits and three RBIs. Jaros went 2 for 6 with three RBIs. Krewson’s homer gave him three RBIs.

Rutgers starter Zach Gleason pitched three scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out one. Jack Kirchner threw four innings, giving up two earned runs on no hits with two strikeouts. Northwestern used six pitchers. James Whitaker tossed two-thirds of an inning, allowing one hit and no earned runs with one strikeout.

The game featured 30 combined hits, 18 for Rutgers and 12 for Northwestern. The Scarlet Knights left 12 runners on base, while the Wildcats stranded seven.

Rutgers won the series opener Thursday 8-5 before Northwestern won Friday 7-6. The Knights have now won two of their last three games after losing four straight. Northwestern has lost five of its last seven.

Meglio continued his strong series, following up a 2 for 2 performance Friday with a two-hit day. He has reached base safely in four of his last five games.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Rutgers 5, Northwestern 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Rutgers with a 64.00 percent probability to win.