Softball Battles Blackbirds at LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday

Wednesday, April 25

Brooklyn, N.Y.

5:30 PM

Rutgers University

LIU Brooklyn

Softball Battles Blackbirds at LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday

Apr 24 | Softball

Game Notes Watch Live Stats

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (April 24, 2018) - Rutgers softball heads back on the road for a midweek, non-conference matchup at LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday, April 25 at 5:30 p.m.

It's the second meeting of the season between the Scarlet Knights and Blackbirds, with RU claiming a 4-1 victory at Florida Atlantic's Parents Weekend Tournament on March 11. Cambria Keefer got the win in the circle by throwing a complete-game with just three hits and a walk in seven innings with four strikeouts. Jess Hughes and Rebecca Hall both paced the offense with two hits apiece, including one of Hall's six triples this season.

THE SLATE \| All Times Eastern
Wed. 4/25	at LIU-Brooklyn	5:30 p.m.

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HEAD-TO-HEAD

KNIGHT NOTES
• Senior first baseman Rebecca Hall is ranked in the Top 10 of seven statistical categories in the Big Ten this season. She comes in second in triples (6), seventh in slugging (.672), eighth in total bases (92), ninth in RBIs (36), doubles (11), and hits (51), and 10th in batting average (.372). By the numbers ... 10 RBIs needed for Hall to set a new program career record ... 6 doubles needed to set a new school record ... 6 triples currently ranks sixth in the NCAA... 92 total bases ranks 69th in the NCAA.

• Through games played on Monday, April 23, Rutgers softball ranks 2nd in NCAA Division I in turning double plays at 0.74 per contest, posting a nation-leading 32 double plays in 43 games. Twenty of the plays came with one out already on the board, hence ending the inning. Hall has been in on 25 doubles plays, followed by 17 from freshman second baseman Myah Moy and 15 from junior shortstop Jess Hughes.

• Junior shortstop Jess Hughes posted a career-high 16-game hit streak from March 10 - April 8 while hitting .455 over that span and getting on-base at a .577 clip. She ranks 13th in the Big Ten with 32 runs scored and fifth with 27 walks. It's the third longest hit streak in the Big Ten this season, and longest at Rutgers since Sarah Kalker hit in 18 straight in 2007.

• Rutgers played the longest game in program history on March 15, a 5-4 victory in 15 innings at Florida Atlantic. Myah Moy was 4-for-7 with her first career home run and the game-winning run, which was driven home by another rookie, Erin Collins. Whitney Jones got the win after a gutsy 12-inning relief effort, stamped by a game-ending K.

TRENDING
• Rutgers is 12-2 when scoring six or more runs in a contest.
• The Scarlet Knights are 10-1 when leading after four innings.
• RU's most productive inning has been the fifth this season, with 34 runs scored in the frame, six more than any other inning.
• Hailey Hoklotubbe has reached base safely in 13 straight games with an average of .308 and on-base percentage of .372.
• Rutgers is 37-for-43 in stolen base attempts (86% success rate).
• The Scarlet Knights are 13-6 when scoring first, and 4-20 when the opponent does.
• Five of Rutgers' 17 wins have been in come-from-behind fashion when trailing after five innings.
• Rutgers has hit a home run in 12-of-17 wins.

BOWMAN BREAKS OUT
On April 22 against Northwestern, Nicole Bowman became the first Scarlet Knight to hit two home runs in a game since Sierra Maddox did it on March 23 of 2017.

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 has six home runs this season to tie for the team lead. The sophomore has a hit in 17 of her last 24 games while reaching base safely in 17 of her last 20 with RBIs in three of her last five.

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

Myah Moy has played in all 43 games (42 starts at second base) and leads the freshmen with 39 hits. She is hitting 14-for-40 (.350) in Big Ten Play with two home runs, six runs scored and eight RBIs in 14 contests.

200 HIT CLUB
Rebecca Hall recorded hit No. 200 of her career in the seventh inning of the dramatic comeback victory over Penn State on Friday, March 30. She becomes just the fourth player in program history to reach the milestone.

Hall moved up the RU record book in a few categories this year. With 36 RBIs, she now ranks third with 136 career ribbies. She ranks fourth all-time with 208 career hits, her 11 doubles place her second all-time with 46, and her six triples moved her into sixth place with nine career three-baggers.

This season she has 16 multi-hit games, nine multi-RBI contests and reached base safely in 13 straight games from March 10-31.

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.

BOOMING BACKSTOP
Senior catcher Sierra Maddox's role calling games and protecting the plate is vital, as is her bat in the middle of Rutgers' lineup. She has driven in 15 runs this season while getting on base at a .328 clip. Maddox has thrown out 11 would-be base stealers from behind the plate and sports a .979 fielding percentage.