STATESBORO, Ga. – After a four-hour delay, the 2020 season officially kicked off for Rutgers softball with the Scarlet Knights splitting opening day with an 8-3 loss to Army before coming back for a 6-3 victory over ETSU.

The loss to the Black Knights featured a three-straight home runs from the bats of sophomore Katie Wingert, senior Anyssa Iliopoulos and graduate student Kiana Workman, while freshman Jaden Vickers tossed a complete game with 13 strikeouts in collegiate debut in the win over the Buccaneers.

ARMY 8, RUTGERS 3

STANDOUT STATS

• Trailing 5-0 in bottom of the sixth, Katie Wingert, Anyssa Iliopoulos and Kiana Workman hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to left field to put Rutgers on the scoreboard.
• Freshman Ashley Hitchcock got the start on the mound and re-entered to close the game to register five strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work.
• Workman, along with fellow grad student Gabrielle Callaway, led Rutgers at the plate both going 2-for-4 in their first appearances for the Scarlet Knights.

THE RUNDOWN

• Army got onto the scoreboard in the top of the second off a home run to right field by Ally Snelling and a RBI double by Madi Gilmore for a 2-0 lead.
• The Black Knights extended their lead to 4-0 the next inning with a pair of runs off three hits.
• Freshman Payton Lincavage gave the Scarlet Knights their first hit of the season with a leadoff single to right in the bottom of the third. The Scarlet Knights, however, were kept scoreless, stranding runners on the corners.
• With a single up the middle, Army's Snelling pushed her squad ahead 5-0 in the top of the fourth. Snelling would finish the game hitting 4-for-5 with three RBI.
• Lincavage helped Rutgers out of a jam in the top of the fifth as Jolie Duong lined out to the third baseman with the bases loaded.
• The Black Knights went down 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth with the Scarlet Knights closing the gap with their turn at bat registering the trio of out of the park hits in the bottom of the inning from Katie Wingert, Anyssa Iliopoulos and Kiana Workman.
• Army extended its lead in the top of the sixth with a trio of runs on four hits and an error, including a two RBI double from Taylor Drayon.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Ten Scarlet Knight made debuts including Taylor Fawcett, Gabrielle Callaway, Kiana Workman, Payton Lincavage, Ashley Hitchcock, Taylor Lane, Courtney Wilde, Kiersten Withstandley, Jane Owens and Aleeah Randazzo.
• Katie Wingert moved up into a tie for sixth all-time in home runs and currently has 20 career bombs in her two seasons at Rutgers.
• Anyssa Iliopoulos, meanwhile, collected her 19^th home run and is tied for eighth all-time "On The Banks".
• Kiana Workman went out of the park for her first Rutgers home run and third of her career.
• Dating back to last season, Rutgers has hit three or more home runs in over the its last eight games.

RUTGERS 6, ETSU 3

STANDOUT STATS

• Freshman Jaden Vickers pitched a complete game with 13 strikeouts and the Scarlet Knights used a five run fifth inning to win its first game of the year.
• Aleah Marra went 2-for-3 from the plate with two runs and two RBI, while Gabrielle Callaway was 2-for-4 with a run batted in.

THE RUNDOWN

• Rutgers struck first in the top of the third as Ashley Hitchcock doubled to left center and Aleah Marra sent her home with a single left.
• ETSU took the lead with their turn in the box getting on base on two errors. The Buccaneers' Makeena Helton got a RBI single and Lili Bowen walked in another run to go ahead 2-1.
• The Scarlet Knights stayed in front scoring five in the fifth inning fueled by runs off a sac bunt from Marra, sac fly from Taylor Fawcett and a single up the middle from Gabrielle Callaway.
• The Buccaneers tacked on a run in the bottom on the inning on a double by Lauren Lee.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Jaden Vickers' 13 strikeouts were the most by a Scarlet Knight since 2015 when Alyssa Landrith also captured 13 K's against Wisconsin on May 1, 2015.
• Mya Mancini made her first RU appearance.

UP NEXT

Day two of Bash in the Boro features the Scarlet Knights taking on Hartford at 11:30 a.m. and host Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

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