Rutgers Softball Heads West For ASU Littlewood Classic
Feb 17 | Softball
TEMPE, Ariz. (Feb. 17, 2010) - Rutgers softball travels to Arizona State this Friday, Feb. 19 through Sunday, Feb. 21 for the ASU Littlewood Classic. It is the first time in school history the Scarlet Knights have headed to the Grand Canyon State for the opening weekend. RU will face Iowa, No. 5/7 Arizona State (twice), Texas State and Illinois State on the weekend.
Losing five positional starters and 53.6 percent of its offensive production, the Scarlet Knights will have a young, talented lineup in 2010. Leading RU will be senior ace Nicole Lindley (Cicero, N.Y.) and junior first baseman Mandy Craig (Manassas, Va.).
Lindley led the team in wins, strikeouts, starts and innings pitched last season. Throwing a total of 142.0 innings, the hurler fanned 103 batters and amassed 12 wins in 2009. Lindley also earned the only no-hitter of the season, notching six strikeouts against Louisiana Tech.
Craig, a BIG EAST Second Team honoree, started all 56 games at first base with a batting average of .314. The Manassas, Va. native picked it up during conference play, batting .343 with nine RBI and 31 total bases.
Friday, Rutgers opens the season with Iowa (3-2) at 2 p.m. ET. The two teams have met three times in the all-time series, with the Hawkeyes taking all three contests from the Scarlet Knights. The last time RU met UI was in 1999, when the Scarlet Knights were edged by the Hawkeyes, 6-2. Iowa is led by Lindsey Digmann, who is batting .412 with two stolen bases in 2010.
Next up, Rutgers meets Arizona State (5-1) at 7 p.m. ET. RU and ASU will also face off on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Arizona State leads the all-time series, 1-0, as Rutgers lost 11-1 in March of 2002. ASU is led by sophomore infielder Katelyn Boyd, who is 7-for-17 on the year with five homeruns and 12 RBI.
On Saturday, Rutgers will take on Texas State (1-4) at 11:30 a.m. ET. This will be the first meeting between the two squads. Leading TSU is Haley Lemons, who is batting .500 with two doubles in 2010.
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, the Scarlet Knights face Illinois State (2-2) at 2 p.m. ET. RU is tied 1-1 in the all-time series with ISU. Leading the Redbirds is junior Abby Olson, who is slugging at a .600 clip with five walks.
Dates: Friday, Feb. 19 - Sunday, Feb. 21
Location: Tempe, Ariz.
Friday:
vs. Iowa (2 p.m. ET)
Friday:
vs. Iowa (2 p.m. ET)
at Arizona State (7 p.m. ET)
Saturday:
vs. Texas State (11:30 a.m. ET)
vs. Illinois State (2 p.m. ET)
Sunday:
at Arizona State (3 p.m.)
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