Photo by: Mike Carlson
Softball Opens Home Schedule With Rutgers Tournament
Mar 16 | Softball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After 25 games on the road, the Rutgers softball team is back home. The Scarlet Knights welcome six teams for 12 games teams this weekend at the Rutgers Softball Complex for the Rutgers Softball Tournament on March 17-20.
It will be the final nonconference tournament weekend for the Scarlet Knights before heading into Big Ten play starting next weekend with Minnesota.
**** SCHEDULE UPDATE *****
Due to impending weather, Rutgers vs. UMES on Friday, March 17 will be at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
| TOURNAMENT INFO |
| Tournament: | Rutgers Softball Tournament Rutgers Softball Stadium | Piscataway, N.J. |
| Admission: | Free |
| Parking: | Free with registration | Click to register vehicle Note: On Sunday with high school basketball at the Jersey Mike's Arena, fans are asked to park in the gravel lot next to the Fred Hill Complex. Otherwise there will be a charge to park in the green and yellow lots. |
| Game Notes: | Rutgers | UMES | Saint Peter's | Fairfield | Holy Cross | Stony Brook | Drexel |
| Statistics: | Rutgers | UMES | Saint Peter's | Fairfield | Holy Cross | Stony Brook | Drexel | Big Ten |
| Live Stats & Video: |
Thursday, March 17 (Updated 3/16 - 4:45 pm)
9 a.m. - Rutgers vs. UMES - Stats | Video
11 a.m. - Rutgers vs. UMES - Stats | Video Friday, March 18 1:30 p.m. - Rutgers vs. Saint Peter's - Stats | Video 3:45 p.m. - Rutgers vs. Fairfield - Stats | Video Saturday, March 19 9 a.m. - Fairfield vs. Holy Cross - Stats | Video 11:15 a.m. - Fairfield vs. Stony Brook - Stats | Video 1:30 p.m. - Rutgers vs. Holy Cross - Stats | Video 3:45 p.m. - Drexel vs. Stony Brook - Stats | Video Sunday, March 20 9 a.m. - Stony Brook vs. Saint Peter's - Stats | Video 11:15 a.m. - Holy Cross vs. Stony Brook - Stats | Video 1:30 p.m. - Saint Peter's vs. Holy Cross - Stats | Video 3:45 p.m. - Rutgers vs. Drexel - Stats | Video |
| Social Media: | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |
| ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS |
- The Rutgers softball team plays their first games of the 2022 campaign at home this weekend closing out the nonconference schedule with the Rutgers Softball Tournament features teams from UMES, Saint Peter's Fairfield, Holy Cross, Stony Brook and Drexel. All games will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
- The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 3-2 weekend at the Arizona State/Grand Canyon Classic improve the squad to 16-9 overall and doubling its win total from from last season.
- At the plate last weekend, Gabrielle Callaway and Kayla Bock both finished the weekend batting .500 going 4-for-6.
- Callaway collected six runs and three RBIs. The graduate student drove in three runs in the 11-7 victory over New Mexico State and went 2-for-3 with her team-leading third home run of the year, two runs and three RBIs in the second meeting with the Aggies, a 6-3 victory.
- Bock, meanwhile, was responsible for a pair of runs and an RBI. She collected her second home run of the season against No. 22/23 Arizona which gave Rutgers a 1-0 lead against the nationally-ranked Sun Devils in the top of the second.
- Junior Taylor Fawcett, playing in her native Arizona, went 5-for-14 including a pair of doubles and a home run with two runs scored. She was 4-for-4 with a trio RBIs and two runs in RU's 11-7 win over New Mexico State. Fawcett's four hits were the most by a Scarlet Knight since teammate Katie Wingert cracked the bat for four hits against Jacksonville State back on February 9, 2019.
- Inside the circle junior lefthander Jaden Vickers went 2-0 with complete games in both victories. She tossed 17.0 innings totaled striking out 14 along the way. Junior righthander Ashley Hitchcock threw for 12.1 innings and fanned six becoming just the ninth Scarlet Knight to collect 200 career strikeouts.
| ABOUT UMES |
2022 Record: 2-16
All-Time Series: Scarlet Knights lead 2-0
Hawks to Watch:
Batting
Tatum Kresley: .365 BA, 11 runs, 23 hits, 3 doubles, 5 RBIs
Julia Garcia: .308 BA, 7 runs, 16 hits, 5 doubles, 1 HR, 14 RBIs
McKenzie Abiley: .267 BA, 7 runs, 12 hits, 3 doubles, 4 RBIs
Pitching
Nasya Goodman: 2-6 W-L, 3.76 ERA, 44.2 IP, 23 Ks, 4 CG
Ammeenah Ballenger: 0-4 W-L, 6.71 ERA, 24.0 IP, 8 Ks
| ABOUT SAINT PETER'S |
2022 Record: 10-16
All-Time Series: Scarlet Knights lead 8-1
Peacocks to Watch:
Batting
Cara McNulty: .380 BA, 8 runs, 19 hits, 5 doubles, 1 HR, 9 RBIs
Olyvia Smith: .352 BA, 13 runs, 19 hits, 1 double, 1 triple, 4 RBIs
Maiah Skakal: .319 BA, 10 runs, 15 hits, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 7 RBIs
Pitching
Christina Colon: 2-1 W-L, 2.27 ERA, 24.2 IP, 16 Ks, 1 CG
Sydney Senerchia: 2-3 W-L, 3.50 ERA, 30.0 IP, 22 Ks, 3 CG
| ABOUT FAIRFIELD |
Head Coach: Julie Brzezinski (Furman '89) - 877-790-6 (33rd season)/632-595-5 at Fairfield (25th season)
2022 Record: 4-9
All-Time Series: Stags lead 2-1
Stags to Watch:
Batting
Haley Updegraff: .314 BA, 8 runs, 11 hits, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs
Mikayla Rubin: .275 BA, 2 runs, 11 hits, 2 doubles, 1 HR, 8 RBIs
Kaitlin Hoffman: .257 BA, 3 runs, 9 hits, 5 doubles, 5 RBIs
Pitching
Allie Bridgman: 1-2 W-L, 3.12 ERA, 24.2 IP, 13 Ks, 6 CG
Bailey Taylor: 1-3 W-L, 3.55 ERA, 23.2 IP, 18 Ks, 2 CG
| ABOUT HOLY CROSS |
Head Coach: Kimberly Stiles (Pitt '07) - 279-242 (12th season)/ 5-10 at Holy Cross (first season)
2022 Record: 5-10
All-Time Series: First meeting
Crusaders to Watch:
Batting
Kari Jacobson: .323 BA, 3 runs, 10 hits, 1 RBI
Jessica Mott: .286 BA, 6 runs, 14 hits, 3 doubles 1 HR, 5 RBIs
Megan Yurchick: .286 BA, 2 runs, 10 hits, 1 double, 2 RBIs
Pitching
Kelly Nelson: 4-6 W-L, 2.53 ERA, 63.2 IP, 69 Ks, 7 CG
Megan Yurchick: 1-4 W-L, 6.06 ERA, 17.1 IP, 13 Ks, 1 CG
| ABOUT DREXEL |
Head Coach: Katie Jansson (Iona '14) - 50-50 (fourth season)/7-5 at Drexel (first season)
2022 Record: 7-5
All-Time Series: Scarlet Knights lead 13-3
Dragons to Watch:
Batting
Kristi DiMeo: .485 BA, 7 runs, 16 hits, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 9 RBIs
Grace Abbonizio: .450, 5 runs 9 hits, 4 RBIs
Sarah Clinton: .357, 12 runs, 15 hits, 1 double, 2 triples, 9 RBIs
Pitching
Lindsay Nelson: 2-2 W-L, 3.67 ERA, 21.0 IP, 8 Ks, 1 CG
Brooklyn Daly: 4-2 W-L, 3.73 ERA, 30.0 IP, 10 Ks, 2CG
| FROM THE DID YOU KNOW FILES |
- Rutgers has had its best start to a season since 1981. The Scarlet Knights opened 2022 at 10-3 which is the best start for the programs since 1981. In 1981, Rutgers finished 28-3 overall having opened the season at 28-1 and advancing to the AIAW College World Series.
- Rutgers surpassed its win total from 2021 three weeks into the season. The Scarlet Knights picked up win number nine on Feb. 25 in a 3-2 eight-inning victory over Siena during The Spring Games.
- Rutgers put together an eight-game win streak from Feb. 18-26, the longest for the Scarlet Knights since 1994. During the eight-game win streak, Rutgers went 5-0 at the Pirate Clash picking up a win over host ECU along with a pair of victories against Wagner and Colgate. The previous streak had RU winning 10 games between April 5-18, 1994.
- Junior Jaden Vickers has three games this season with double-digit strikeouts. Her 16 K's against Princeton on Feb. 25 are the most in Scarlet Knight individual records dating back to 2004 and tied for the 13th most in a game this season in Division.
- Classmate Ashley Hitchcock is ninth all-time in strikeouts with 200 K's in her three seasons "On The Banks".
- RU's catcher redshirt junior Katie Wingert is currently sixth all-time in home runs with 22.
- Sophomore Kayla Bock collected five RBIs in the 9-8 win over George Washington and were the most by a Scarlet Knight in a game this season and most since Katie Wingert vs. Morgan State on March 16, 2019.
| BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK - PART ONE |
- Infielder Maddie Lawson was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the week ending Feb. 20 after leading Rutgers to a 5-0 weekend at the Pirate Clash.
- Lawson hit .500 with three multiple-hit games along with six RBIs and two runs scored.
- The rookie opened the weekend going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs in a 13-3 run-rule victory over Wagner. The Scarlet Knight launched her first collegiate home run in the bottom of the fifth to give RU the victory. She also added a run in RU's seven-run third inning.
- In a 4-3 win over host ECU, the Mebane, North Carolina native was 2-for-3. She drove in RU's first two runs of the game as Rutgers fought back from an early 1-0 deficit against the Pirates.
- The tournament continued with Lawson going 1-for-3 in a 5-0 victory over Wagner and 3-for-3 in an extra-inning 5-4 win over Colgate. She once again helped Rutgers out of an early 1-0 deficit with an RBI base hit to put RU up 2-1 after one inning of play.
- Lawson is the first Scarlet Knight to earn weekly Big Ten honors since Anyssa Illiopoulos' conference Player of the Week award back on May 6, 2019. Additionally, she is the first RU rookie to earn a conference Freshman of the Week accolade since teammate Katie Wingert collected hers on April 19, 2019.
| BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK - PART TWO |
- Maddie Lawson was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second consecutive week on Mar. 1 batting .353 (6-for-17) in Rutgers' 4-1 weekend at The Spring Games with three RBIs and three runs along with eight putouts and five assists.
- Lawson is the first Scarlet Knight to win more than one Big Ten weekly award.
- The rookie went 1-for-3 against Princeton opening up scoring for Rutgers in the fourth inning of the Scarlet Knights' 5-0 victory. She connected for an RBI single for the game's first run and added the third of four runs later that inning.
- The Mebane, North Carolina native had a sacrifice fly in the first inning against Siena putting her squad up 1-0 en route to a 3-2 win.
- In the extra-inning 4-3 victory over FGCU, Lawson was 3-for-4. She was the Scarlet Knights' first run of the game in the second and added an RBI single in the sixth to put Rutgers ahead 3-0.
- The Scarlet Knight was also 1-for-4 with a run in the 10-7 setback to North Florida and 1-for-4 in a 5-0 win versus Cornell.
| PUERTO VALLARTA CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM |
- Two Scarlet Knights landed on the Puerto Vallarta Challenge - Gabrielle Callaway & Jaden Vickers - during opening weekend.
- Callaway, a graduate student left fielder, finished the tournament hitting .400 with six hits and four RBIs. She was 3-for-4 with a double and her 13th career doubles in RU's 6-2 win over Lamar. Callaway also had two RBIs and two stolen bases against Memphis.
- Vickers, meanwhile, pitched 19.0 innings with a 2.95 ERA and pair of wins over the Cardinals where she just gave up just three hits. The junior lefthander struck out 11 batters, including six Tigers in her 2022 debut, and held the opposition to a .167 average at the plate
| UP NEXT |
The Rutgers softball team opens Big Ten play hosting Minnesota on March 25-27 at the Rutgers Softball Complex. Admission is free.
Follow Rutgers softball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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