The next stop on James' tour of the Collegiate Baseball Association took him to New Brunswick, New Jersey, the home to Rutgers University. It was a quick ride on the train, as New Brunswick was a mere 27 miles southwest of Manhattan. Located on the southern bank of the Raritan River, the city had 15,058 residents. Rutgers University President Jeff Vogt met with James and accompanied him to the campus.
Like most university presidents, Vogt was concerned with whether or not this venture would end up costing his university. Vogt told James they were averaging 1134 people per game, which he was happy about.
"Of course, having more people come to the games would be even better," Vogt laughed.
The tour of the Ballpark of Rutgers was like many of the others. The ballpark held 1700 people and the field was slightly smaller than others he had seen. The left and right field lines measured 326 and 320 feet each. The power alleys came in at 382 feet in left and 373 feet in right. Center field was 421 feet deep.
Rutgers Athletic Director Isaac Brown came up and introduced himself to James. "Well, Mr. Herring, I'm not sure what's going on with our guys. They started out hot early on, but now they're struggling." Brown continued, "Their record stands at 22-20 right now. We're three game behind Princeton and two games out of the wild card."
Manager Steve Garrett acknowledged the team's struggles. "Mr. Herring, we've gone 1-11 this month. The kids are doubting their own abilities and I'm having a tough time righting the ship." Garrett went on to say his club had lost six straight, but he was hoping to turn things around tonight against Cornell, who had a record of 14-28. Garrett said his best player was his starting pitcher, Bill Rhoton. "The kid's got great ability, but with things the way they are right now, I'm not sure he's pitching to his full extent."
As game time rolled around, 1668 fans entered the ballpark, a near capacity crowd. The weather was nice, mid 50's, and there was a light breeze blowing in from right field. Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, their luck didn't change. By the 5th inning, they found themselves down 5-0 and eventually lost the contest 11-4.
As for James, he was on the road again, with another visit scheduled in just two days time.