Softball Escapes to Boca Raton for Florida Atlantic Tourney

Friday, March 9

Boca Raton, Fla.

8:15 PM

Rutgers University

Stony Brook

Softball Escapes to Boca Raton for Florida Atlantic Tourney

Mar 08 | Softball

Game Notes Tournament Central

Scarlet Knights slated for five games in three days

BOCA RATON, Fla. (March 8, 2018) - Rutgers softball will leave a foot of snow behind and fly to sunny Boca Raton, Florida for five games in three days at Florida Atlantic's Parents' Weekend Tournament from March 9-11. The Scarlet Knights will see Stony Brook, LIU Brooklyn and Texas El-Paso for the first time this season, while getting rematches with Pittsburgh and Florida A&M.

THE SLATE \| All Times Eastern
Fri. 3/9	vs. Stony Brook	8:15 p.m.
Sat. 3/10	vs. Pittsburgh	1:30 p.m.
Sat. 3/10	vs. Florida A&M	3:45 p.m.
Sun. 3/11	vs. Texas El-Paso	3:45 p.m.
Sun. 3/11	vs. LIU Brooklyn	6 p.m.

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HEAD-TO-HEAD
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KNIGHT NOTES
• Senior first baseman Rebecca Hall is red hot at the plate and has played perfect defense so far in 2018. At the Pirate Invitational at Hampton last weekend, she hit .632 and slugged 1.000 with three doubles and two triples while driving in 11 runs. She had multiple hits in each game - running her season total to 10 multi-hit games - and had RBIs in five consecutive at-bats spanning two games. Hall leads the Big Ten in batting average (.467), RBIs (24), total bases (53) and triples (5). By the numbers ... 22 RBIs needed for Hall to set a new program career record ... 11 doubles needed to set a new school record ... 5 triples currently ranks third in the NCAA.

• Through games played on Sunday, March 4, Rutgers softball is the NCAA Division I national leader in turning double plays at 0.89 per contest, posting 16 in 18 games. The double plays have benefited four different pitchers in the circle this season, with innings leader Cambria Keefer leading the group with seven. Thirteen of the plays came with one out already on the board, hence ending the inning. Hall has been in on 12 doubles plays, followed by six apiece from junior shortstop Jess Hughes and freshman second baseman Myah Moy.

• Sophomore starting pitcher Cambria Keefer has won four of her last five starts and leads the team in ERA at 2.07 and innings pitched at 44.0. Spanning three starts and four appearances from Feb. 23 - March 3, Keefer posted 22 straight innings without allowing a run. The streak started with the first complete game shutout of her career against Kennesaw State on Feb. 23 with four strikeouts. In an 8-2 victory over North Dakota, she struck out a career-high six. The only runs scored against her since Feb. 23 have come in extra innings with the international tiebreaker rule in effect.

TRENDING
• Rutgers is 7-0 when scoring six or more runs in a contest.
• The Scarlet Knights are 7-0 when leading after four innings.
• RU's two triples against Hampton on March 3 marked the first game with multiple triples since March 19, 2016.
• Erin Collins reached base safely in each of the first 11 games to start her career.
• Rebecca Hall has 10 of Rutgers' 23 multi-hit performances this season.
• Rutgers is 19-for-22 in stolen base attempts and has stolen a base in five straight games.
• The Scarlet Knights are 7-1 when scoring first, and 2-8 when the opponent does.
• Three of Rutgers' five wins have been in come-from-behind fashion when trailing after five innings.
• Rutgers has hit a home run in 7-of-9 wins.

HALL OF GAME
Rebecca Hall was named to the 2017 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I All-Great Lakes Region First Team following her breakout junior season.

The momentum has rolled into 2018. Hall moved up the RU record book in a few categories. With 24 RBIs, she now ranks fourth with 124 career ribbies. Her six doubles place her sixth all-time with 41, and her five triples moved her into sixth place with eight career three-baggers.

She finished a home run shy of hitting for a natural cycle while going 4-for-4 with four RBIs in a 9-5 win over Hampton on Saturday. She slugged 1.000 during the tournament with three doubles and two triples, while driving in 11 runs.

HUGHES COMES HOME
Junior and Sewell, New Jersey native Jess Hughes transferred in from Fordham and earned the starting nod at shortstop. Hughes set a Fordham record for OBP (.510) in 2017. She hit .370 for the Rams with 12 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs and 41 RBIs en route to NFCA All-Region, All-ECAC and All-Atlantic 10 honors. She ranked 15th in the nation with 0.87 walks per game and 18th with six triples.

RUTGERS RECRUITS
Jay Nelson welcomes 10 newcomers to the squad in 2018, including nine first-years.

Christine Malito made the most of her first collegiate hit. With Rutgers down to their final outs in the top of the seventh and trailing 1-0 to Houston, Malito's first career hit went down as an RBI single up the middle to tie the game. She is hitting .250 with three RBIs in 10 games (six starts).

Myah Moy has played in all 18 games (17 starts at second base) and leads the freshmen with 11 hits. She posted her second multi-hit game of the season against Hampton, going 2-for-4 with a run, a double and an RBI.

BOWMAN BREAKS OUT
Nicole Bowman was named to the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge All-Tournament Team by batting 5-for-11 with a walk, including a 2-for-2 mark in the win over Houston. The sophomore accounted for 39 of Rutgers' 97 hits by rookies last year. Bowman slashed .275/.393/.437 as a freshman with three home runs, 12 doubles and 34 RBIs.

She drove in a career-high four RBIs in the win against North Dakota, including a two-run home run to dead center, her fifth career dinger. The sophomore has a four-game hitting streak that has her average up to .278.

GREECE LIGHTNING
Sophomore Anyssa Iliopoulos was chosen to play for the Greek National Team at the European Softball Championships from June 25 to July 1, 2017 in Bollate, Italy.

The Greek National Team finished sixth out of 23 countries, the highest finish for the squad since 2004. The team picked up wins over Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden. Iliopoulos was a prime factor in the result, posting a team-leading .419 batting average in 11 starts at third base. She also added team highs with 13 hits, 11 RBIs, two doubles, two triples and a home run.

UP NEXT
Rutgers will remain in Boca Raton for a game against Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, March 14 before heading North to Macon, Georgia for the Bear Classic at Mercer from March 16-18 to conclude a 10-day Spring Break trip.

In Georgia, the Scarlet Knights will face the host Bears twice, along with two games against Bucknell and one opposite Austin Peay. That marks the final non-conference tournament of the season before Big Ten play begins in Wisconsin on March 23-25.