EVANSTON, Ill. (March 21, 2019) - Rutgers softball enters Big Ten play winners of eight of its last 10 games, and will travel to Northwestern for a three-game series Friday through Sunday, March 22-24 at Drysdale Field.

The Scarlet Knights (15-11) are looking for their first victory over the Wildcats (19-6) in five tries. Northwestern is receiving votes in the major national polls, two spots out of the Top 25 in each poll. The Wildcats have won two straight, including a non-conference win over No. 19 Indiana their last time out in Bloomington, 5-0.
 

THE SLATE | All Times Eastern
Fri. 3/22	Game 1	5 p.m.
Fri. 3/23	Game 2	2 p.m.
Sat. 3/24	Game 3	1 p.m.

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HEAD-TO-HEAD


KNIGHT NOTES
• Rutgers has won nine of its last 11 heading into the Big Ten opener. That run included its first seven-game winning streak since April 2015. During the streak, Rutgers won back-to-back games by shutout (4-0 over Virginia and 8-0 over Robert Morris) for the first time since blanking Villanova twice in 2014. Over the seven-game run, Rutgers boosted its batting average by 32 points to .266 and lowered its ERA by 0.96 to 3.20.

• RU currently ranks third in the Big Ten with 1.08 home runs per game after leading the nation with 13 homers at the end of opening weekend. Nine different Scarlet Knights have a hit a home run this season. The five home runs against Army is a school record for a single game and tied for third all-time in Big Ten history for a single game.

• Senior shortstop Jess Hughes is ranked fifth among the NCAA Division I softball active leaders in career walks drawn with 132. She also ranks fifth with 183 career runs scored. The New Jersey native is ranked 16th in the nation currently with her 10 doubles, and leads the Big Ten in runs scored with 28. She comes in at fourth in the Big Ten in both batting average (.410) and steals (14).

• Junior outfielder Anyssa Iliopoulos ranks sixth in the Big Ten with a .722 slugging percentage and ties Hughes for 16th in the nation with 10 doubles. Iliopoulos slashed .526/.654/.895 during Rutgers' 7-game win streak with 10 runs scored and six RBIs. Seventeen of 25 hits have gone for extra bases.

• Freshman pitcher Corah Price leads the staff in innings (79.1), ERA (2.91), WHIP (1.10) and strikeouts (60). The rookie has a pair of saves and a sparkling 3.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Price's nine strikeouts against Robert Morris was the program's most in a game since nine on March 18, 2016 against UMass Lowell. She also ranks 13th in the Big Ten with a .226 opposing batting average.

• RU has succeeded in 44-of-51 stolen base attempts for an 86% average. RU's highest mark for a season in the last 15 years is 87% in '11. Comparatively, opposition has managed just 13-of-20 stolen base attempts (65%) against Rutgers pitching and freshman catcher Katie Wingert (seven caught stealing). RU ranks 37th nationally and 2nd in the Big Ten with 1.65 steals per game.

• First-year head coach Kristen Butler won her first game at the helm of the Scarlet Knights on Saturday, Feb. 9 against Jacksonville State. A former SEC Player of the Year and record-setting professional softball player in the United States and Japan, Butler has spent the last four seasons turning around the program as head coach at Toledo while earning the 2018 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year honor.

TRENDING
• Nine of Rutgers' games have been decided by one run (RU is 4-5).
• Rutgers is 11-1 when scoring 6+ runs, and winless at 0-6 when an opponent scores 6+
• Rutgers is 12-5 when scoring first and has scored first in 12 of its 15 victories.
• Rutgers has scored in the first inning 13 times, and in eight of the last 10.
• Rutgers is 7-1 when hitting 2+ home runs.
• Rutgers is 11-1 when leading after 5.
• Rutgers is 44-for-51 (86%) in stolen base attempts and 20 for its last 22 (91%).
• Erin Collins, who has missed five games with injury, has a team-high six-game hitting streak.

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights are scheduled for their home opener on Wednesday, March 27 against Fordham at 3 p.m. at the RU Softball Complex. The Big Ten home opener is slated for Friday-Sunday, March 29-31 against No. 25 Michigan.