COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Feb. 16, 2019) – Rutgers softball endured a rollercoaster Day 2 at the Texas A&M Invitational, falling in a walk-off heartbreaker to the No. 22/17 ranked host Aggies before bouncing back with a 2-1, extra-inning victory over McNeese State in the nightcap.
 
"It was big day for us," said head coach Kristen Butler. "I am very proud of how our team played and made adjustments all day. We scored in all but two innings against Texas A&M, and scored late against McNeese. Whitney Jones did a great job pitching for us in both games. We are excited to finish the tournament out strong tomorrow morning."

AGGIES WALK OFF WITH WIN AT HOME

Texas A&M (8-2) – 7
Rutgers (3-5) – 6
 
STANDOUT STATS

• Junior left fielder Anyssa Iliopoulos continued her hitting tear with another two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI.
• Freshman catcher Katie Wingert went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI singles, including a go-ahead base knock in the top of the sixth.
• Senior shortstop Jess Hughes batted 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and a stolen base.

THE RUNDOWN

• Iliopoulos handed Rutgers the early lead with an RBI double in the top of the first.
• The Aggies jumped way ahead in the bottom of the second on one swing, a one-out grand slam that followed two walks and a hit by pitch. Freshman starter Corah Price allowed only one hit before giving way to a reliever. After three more hit by pitches in the frame, Price reentered and picked up the final two outs. Price settled down and retired 8-of-9 before allowing a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth.
• Rutgers chipped away at the deficit, scoring a run in each the third, fourth and fifth via Winger's RBI single, senior designated player Allie Yoffee's RBI double and sophomore right fielder Erin Collins's RBI single – all of which were hit hard to the outfield. Collins' RBI tied it at 4-4.
• Following A&M's go-ahead homer in the fifth, the Scarlet Knights responded again with a pair of freshmen stepping up to the plate. Second baseman Aleah Marra singled up the middle and Wingert got the lead back at 6-5 by beating out an infield single to plate Hughes.
• Senior pitcher Whitney Jones entered in the bottom of the sixth and worked around a two-out single and walk to enter the seventh with the lead.
• Rutgers went down in order in the seventh, then the Aggies benefitted from a walk, an infield error and an intentional walk to load the bases. Hughes got the first out with a force out at home, but two more infield miscues in the next two at-bats tied the game at 6-6, then walked the Aggies off with the win.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Hughes extended her hit streak to six straight games in the loss.
• Iliopoulos reached base safely for the eighth straight game to start the season.
• Iliopoulos has 10 hits on the season. Nine of them have gone for extra bases (five doubles and four home runs).

RUTGERS RESPONDS WITH GRITTY WIN OVER MCNEESE

Rutgers (4-5) – 2
McNeese State (5-5) – 1 (Final/8 innings)
 
QUICK PITCH
With Rutgers trailing 1-0 and down to their final out, junior first baseman Nicole Bowman drove in the game-tying run with a two-out single in the top of the seventh inning to force extra innings. In their first stab at the international tiebreaker, Rutgers benefitted from an error to take a 2-1 lead with Yoffee putting the ball in play.
 
Jones, who started the game after finishing Saturday's opener against Texas A&M, picked up a heroic complete-game win with just four hits allowed in eight frames. With one out and a McNeese runner on third in the bottom of the eighth, the Scarlet Knights defense ended it with sophomore third baseman Myah Moy tagging the runner near third and firing to first for the game-clinching double play.
 
STANDOUT STATS

• Marra was the game's only player with multiple hits, going 2-for-3.
• Junior first baseman Nicole Bowman drove in the game-tying run with a two-out single in the

THE RUNDOWN

• McNeese took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first off an RBI triple.
• The pitcher's duel took shape before Marra led off Rutgers' last licks in the seventh with a single. Senior pinch runner Adriana Burcar advanced to second on a wild pitch, then to third on a groundout. The Cowgirls got the second out while stranding Burcar at third, but Bowman picked up her teammates and tied the game with a pulled single smacked through the right side of the infield.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Bowman has the team's longest reached base safely streak with seven in a row.
• Marra marked her second career multi-hit game.
• Rutgers improves to 1-3 in one-run games this season.
• This was Rutgers' first win in four tries when the opponent scores first.

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights close out the Texas A&M Invitational with a rematch against Liberty on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m. ET. The Flames edged Rutgers, 2-1, on Friday.
 
 
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