FULLERTON, Calif. (Feb. 11, 2018) – Senior first baseman Rebecca Hall finished a single shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with five RBIs as Rutgers softball claimed a see-saw, 11-5 victory over Utah State in the Titan Classic finale at Cal State Fullerton on Sunday afternoon.
 
The nearly two-and-a-half hour contest saw a tie score after three innings and two lead changes in the fifth frame or later. The Scarlet Knights (2-3) went ahead for good with a six-run sixth inning in support of freshman relief pitcher Taryn Collins, who earned her first collegiate win with three innings, no earned runs and the first two strikeouts of her rookie year. Utah State dropped to 2-3 with the loss.
 
Junior starter Whitney Jones did not factor into the decision, exiting after four innings and surrendering three runs.
 
"Whit pitched a great game and battled through," said head coach Jay Nelson. "Collins also came in and did a great job to keep us in the game and allow us to win. It could have gone downhill after they took the 5-3 lead, but her teammates picked her up. Rebecca has been swinging the bat well all weekend, and she found her timing today. Every ball she hit was stung really hard."
 
Junior shortstop Jess Hughes produced out of the leadoff spot with a pair of walks, a hard-hit infield single off the pitcher, two runs scored and a stolen base. She also drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning to get the game-winning rally started, going down as her first RBI as a Scarlet Knight. Her sequence in the top of the seventh inning provided important insurance as she led off the inning with the hit off the Aggie pitcher, promptly stole second base, and came around to score on sophomore third baseman Anyssa Iliopoulos' RBI single stamped with a sweeping slide to avoid the catcher's tag on the play at the plate.
 
Freshman second baseman Myah Moy enjoyed her first career multi-hit game, while senior catcher Sierra Maddox and sophomore center fielder Hailey Hoklotubbe added RBIs in the victory.
 
Rutgers is now 2-0 when scoring the game's first run. On Sunday, that came on Hoklotubbe's sacrifice fly in the top of the second, a deep enough ball to score Moy from third. Hall made it 3-0 in the third with her first round tripper of the season, a two-run screamer over the right center field fence.
 
Utah State erased the lead on one swing in the bottom of the third. Then in the fifth with Collins in relief, the freshman appeared to have escaped a jam with a strikeout, but the dropped third strike allowed the Aggies to continue the inning. Utah State jumped on the opportunity and followed with a two-run single to take a 5-3 lead.
 
The Scarlet Knights had a resounding answer in the sixth with six runs. The tone was set early in the frame with the bases loaded and no one out. Hughes drew the bases-loaded walk before Iliopoulos added a sac fly to tie the game at 5-5. Hall kept swinging the hot bat with a bases-clearing triple for two more, then Maddox and Moy capped the rally with RBI singles for the 9-5 advantage.
 
As the offense awoke, Rutgers also put forth another solid defensive effort. Fittingly, the game and tournament ended on a double play lineout, the Scarlet Knights' fifth DP of the weekend. RU's fielders' combined on a .979 fielding percentage through the Titan Classic's five games. Maddox also nailed down her first caught stealing of the year behind the plate.
 
"The Infield has played really tough," Nelson said. "They are solid in every position and had each other's back. They really stuck together to come back today and take advantage of those opportunities. Sierra found her timing behind the plate throwing out a fast runner, as well."
 
Rutgers enjoys an off day in SoCal on Monday with study hall and a trip to Disneyland on the docket. The Scarlet Knights fly across the border on Wednesday for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico, beginning on Thursday, Feb. 15 against Texas at 6 p.m. ET.
 
 
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