LAFAYETTE, LA. (Feb. 26, 2016) - The Rutgers softball team dropped two contests in day one at the Ragin' Cajun Invitational on Friday night at Lamson Park. The Scarlet Knights fell to the host No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette, 12-0, before being edged by Alcorn State, 2-1.
RU moved to an overall record of 1-10, while Louisiana improved to a mark 11-1 and Alcorn State to a mark of 4-6.
GAME ONE: RUTGERS AT #6 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE - BOX SCORE Rutgers' (1-9, 0-0 Big Ten) bats fell silent in a 12-0 loss at No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette (11-1, 0-0 Sun Belt). RU's contest against Louisiana marked the fourth ranked opponent the Scarlet Knights have crossed paths with this season.
Senior Dresden Maddox (Kennesaw, Ga.) suffered the loss for RU (0-4), while KJ Trahan earned the win (3-1) and the no-hitter.
Senior Melanie Slowinski (Severn, Md.) and junior Bridget Carr (Pequannock, N.J.) each registered a walk in the loss.
The Ragin Cajuns were led by Kelsey Vincent with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate, including a home run and four RBIs. Lexie Elkins, who entered the weekend leading the nation in slugging percentage and home runs per game, went 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs, two runs, a walk and a home run.
After the Scarlet Knight bats went down in order in top of the first, the Cajuns struck first in the bottom of the frame. Elkins led things off with a two-run homer followed by another home run from Vincent to give Louisiana a 3-0 lead. The Cajuns loaded the bases shortly after as freshman Whitney Jones (Santa Monica, Calif.) took over work in the circle.
A single to center field and a fielding error allowed Louisiana to score three more runs. Jones would then force two groundouts to end the first inning as RU trailed 6-0.
In the top of the second, senior Melanie Slowinski (Severn, Md.) drew a walk to put RU's first runner on. Although she would advance to second on a wild pitch, Slowinski was left on base.
The Cajuns would go on to extend its lead to 9-0 on two hits and one error in the bottom half of the second. Jones forced a groundout to end the frame, stranding two runners on.
Junior Bridget Carr (Pequannock, N.J.) drew a walk with two outs in the fourth inning, but RU was once again unable to bring a run in.
As the RU bats remained silent, Louisiana added on another run on a double from Gabby Felps in the fourth inning. Jones and the defense then escaped a bases loaded situation to end the frame.
Trailing 12-0, the Scarlet Knights fell in order at the plate for the game's final margin.
GAME TWO: RUTGERS VS. ALCORN STATE - BOX SCORE
In its second game of the day, Rutgers (1-10, 0-0 Big Ten) was edged by Alcorn State (4-6, 0-0 SWAC) by the slim margin of 2-1.
Junior Shayla Sweeney (Barrington, N.J.) suffered the loss for RU (1-2), while Ashley Breal earned the win.
Senior Jordan Whitley (Clayton, Del.) and sophomore Sierra Maddox (Kennesaw, Ga.) led RU with two hits each, while sophomore Meaghan Wells (Piscataway, N.J.) added the Scarlet Knights' lone run of the game.
The Lady Braves were paced by Taylor Hughes with a 3-for-3 performance in the win. Adriana Gutierrez and Shamberlynn Alop followed with two hits each.
Alcorn State opened the contest's scoring in the top of the first. After Sweeney struck out the first batter, the Lady Braves registered three consecutive hits. With the bases loaded, a Holyfield groundout sent the run across to give Alcorn State a 1-0 lead.
After Sweeney registered a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second, Slowinski doubled to right field for the Scarlet Knights first hit of the game. However, RU was unable to bring Slowinski home.
Sweeney and the defense held strong in the circle, ending the top half of the third with a double play and keeping it a one run game. Whitley led off the bottom of the frame with a single, however, RU failed to bring in the tying run.
Alcorn State extended its lead to 2-0 with a run on two hits in the fourth inning.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Sierra Maddox led off the frame with a single. Another single from Whitley put two runners on for RU. Although freshman Adriana Burcar (La Palma, Calif.), who entered to pinch run, was caught stealing, Wells managed to score in the process, bringing the deficit to 2-1.
Following Sweeney's third consecutive scoreless inning in the circle in the top of the seventh, Maddox added her second hit of the game to put the tying run on in the bottom half of the frame. However, it was not enough to rally an RU comeback.
KNIGHT NOTES
- Rutgers faced its fourth ranked opponent this season in No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette, marking its fifth ranked matchup in the last 10 games. RU opened the season at the UCF Knights Invitational, which included then-No. 5 Alabama, No. 17 host UCF, and No. 19 James Madison.
- Lousiana's 12 runs were the most allowed by Rutgers, since the Scarlet Knights gave up 17 runs to Michigan State in a 22-17 victory on April 4, 2015.
- RU suffered 10 strikeouts against Louisiana, marking the most since then-No. 4 Michigan dealt RU 14 strikeouts in a 5-0 shutout of the Scarlet Knights on April 12, 2015.
- The Scarlet Knights posted no hits in its contest versus the Ragin' Cajuns, marking the first time since April 22, 2012 when Syracuse held Rutgers to no hits.
- In its 2-1 loss to Alcorn State, Rutgers suffered a one-run loss for the third time this season. The Scarlet Knights also fell in a game decided by one run to Fordham (3-2) and Morehead State (6-5).
- With two hits against Alcorn State, Jordan Whitley posted her second multi-hit game of the season.
- Melanie Slowinski has notched a hit in three of the last four contests. The senior's double in today's contest marked her third of the season and 21st of her career.
- Sierra Maddox notched her first multi-hit game of the season against the Lady Braves.
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