Softball Begins Week-Long Spring Break in Florida
Mar 08 | Softball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers softball team embarks on a week-long spring break trip starting at Florida Atlantic's Parents' Weekend Tournament from March 10-12. The team remains on the road with midweek matchups against Fairfield on Monday and Colgate on Wednesday before closing the week at USF's Clearwater Spring Break Classic from March 17-19.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | GAME NOTES
Friday's contests of the FAU tournament will take place at Felsberg Field at Florida International Softball Stadium in Miami, Florida. Saturday and Sunday's games will move to the tournament host's FAU Softball Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida.
| FAU PARENTS' WEEKEND TOURNAMENT | |||
| FRIDAY, MARCH 10 | |||
| TIME | MATCHUP | MEDIA LINKS | |
| 2 P.M. | Rutgers vs. Fordham | Live Stats | |
| 4:15 P.M. | Rutgers vs. FIU | Live Stats | |
| SATURDAY, MARCH 11 | |||
| TIME | MATCHUP | MEDIA LINKS | |
| 9 A.M. | Rutgers vs. Ball State | ||
| 11:15 A.M. | Rutgers vs. Illinois State | ||
| SUNDAY, MARCH 12 | |||
| TIME | MATCHUP | MEDIA LINKS | |
| 9 A.M. | Rutgers vs. Brown | ||
RU'S LAST TIME OUT
Rutgers (3-11, 0-0 Big Ten) finished the Homewood Suites RDU/RTP Invitational in third place, earning an 8-0 shutout and 6-1 victory over Lehigh. Senior Shayla Sweeney went 2-0 in the circle with a 1.79 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched. The righthander tossed a complete game in Sunday's contest, allowing only four hits.
Junior Rebecca Hall paced the squad with a .500 batting average and 1.125 slugging percentage, including three home runs and eight RBIs. Hall's outing was recognized among the NFCA's Selected Top Performances of the week. Freshman Taryn Atlee also finished with a .500 batting average and a team-high nine hits on the weekend.
SCOUTING FORDHAM
Fordham (15-4, 0-0 A-10) captured the title at the Homewood Suites Invitational, finishing the tournament undefeated against NC State, Lehigh, and Rutgers. The Rams are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll.
Madison Shaw earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Week accolades after posting a .538 batting average with four home runs and 17 RBIs. Madison Aughinbaugh picked up her second consecutive A-10 Rookie of the Week honor, posting a 2-0 record and 1.56 ERA in 9.0 innings, while allowing eight hits and two runs.
SCOUTING FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
Florida International (17-6, 0-0 C-USA) has won seven of its last eight contests, most recently picking up victories over Holy Cross and Ball State on Tuesday. The sole loss during the span came at the hands of Notre Dame, a team receiving votes, in extra innings.
The Panther pitch staff owns a combined 1.97 ERA, led by Megan Kugelmann with a 1.67 ERA and 7-1 record. Jackie Schoff is batting a .449 with 35 hits to lead the team.
RU and FIU met earlier in the season at the FGCU Four Points Invite on Feb. 24, when the Panthers took a 9-5 victory. Hall nearly hit for the cycle in the loss.
SCOUTING BALL STATE
Ball State (7-14, 0-0 MAC) is coming off a 4-1 showing at the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Florida. The Cardinals topped Hartford, Penn, Towson, and St. Bonaventure, suffering the lone loss to host USF. Ball State fell to FIU and FGCU in matchups on Tuesday and is set to meet Holy Cross on Wednesday night.
Rachel Houck was named Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the week, batting .500 with nine hits, four home runs and three doubles over the weekend.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
Illinois State (7-9, 0-0 MVC) participated in the LSU Tiger Invitational last weekend, picking up a win over Florida Atlantic. The Redbirds fell to Illinois, then-No. 13 LSU, Troy, and then-No. 10 Minnesota.
Sarah Finck paces the pitchers with a 2.97 ERA and a 5-4 record in 61.1 innings. Shannon Felde leads the team with a .560 average in seven appearances with 14 hits and three doubles.
SCOUTING BROWN
Brown (0-5, 0-0 Ivy) opened its season at the Madeira Beach Tournament from Feb. 24-26, dropping five contests with losses to Loyola (Ill.), host Eastern Michigan, Albany, Army West Point, and Georgetown.
Raquel Blanchard leads the team with a .500 batting average in five games, while Christina Andrews follows with a .412 hitting clip and a team-high seven hits and one home run.
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