Thursday, March 3
Lynchburg, Va.
5:00 PM (ET)
Rutgers University
at
Liberty
Photo by: Mike Carlson
Softball's Nonconference Slate Continues With Liberty Invitational
Mar 02 | Softball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers softball's non-conference schedule continues at the Liberty Softball Invitational this weekend entering the action at 11-4 overall and coming off a 4-1 weekend at The Spring Games in Leesburg, Florida last weekend.
Rutgers will face host Liberty twice along will taking the field against Notre Dame, George Washingon and Lehigh. The Fighting Irish are receiving votes in USA Today/NFCA and ESPN/USA Softball Polls and ranked No. 23 according to Softball America. The Flames, meanwhile, are receiving a vote in the USA Today/NFCA Poll.
| TOURNAMENT INFO |
| Tournament: | Liberty Softball Invitational Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium | Lynchburg, Va. |
| Game Notes: | Rutgers | Liberty | Notre Dame | George Washington | Lehigh |
| Statistics: | Rutgers | Liberty | Notre Dame | George Washington | Lehigh | Big Ten |
| Live Stats & Video: |
Thursday, Mar. 3 5 p.m. - Rutgers vs. Liberty - Stats | Video Friday, Mar. 4 (UPDATED AS OF 3/4 - 12:30 p.m.) 3 p.m. - Rutgers vs. Liberty - Stats | Video Saturday, Mar. 5 (UPDATED AS OF 3/4 - 6 p.m.) 10 a.m. - Rutgers vs. James Madison - Stats Sunday, Mar. 6 (UPDATED AS OF 3/4 - 6 p.m.) 11 a.m. - Rutgers vs. Notre Dame - Stats 1 p.m. - Rutgers vs. George Washington - Stats |
| Social Media: | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |
| ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS |
- Rutgers softball's nonconference schedule continues at the Liberty Softball Invitational this weekend entering the action at 11-4 overall and coming off a 4-1 weekend at The Spring Games in Leesburg, Florida last weekend.
- The Scarlet Knights won its first three games last weekend - a 5-0 victory over Princeton, a 3-2 extra-inning win over Siena and another 8-inning victory with a 4-3 victory over FGCU. The three wins extended Rutgers' win streak to eight straight marking the longest win streak since 1994. During that streak in 1994, the Scarlet Knights had won 10 straight between April 5 and April 18, 1994. The wins also gave Rutgers its best start to a season since the 1981 AIAW College World Series season, a year which saw RU finish 28-3 overall having opened the season at 28-1. The three opening wins at The Spring Games also saw RU best its win total from last season (8) just 13 games into the season.
- Junior lefthander Jaden Vickers tossed double-digit strikeouts in two of her four appearances last weekend. Vickers captured a career-high 16 strikeouts, the most by a Scarlet Knight in individual game records dating back to 2004 in the 5-0 victory over Princeton. The 16 Ks are tied for the second-most by a Big Ten pitcher this season and eighth nationally. It was the lefthander's first career complete-game shutout victory. She allowed the Tigers only two hits and one walk. She also captured 14Ks in The Spring Games finale, a 3-0, shutout over Cornell. The Big Red were limited to one hit and two walks. Altogether, Vickers held down a 1.17 ERA with 39 strikeouts on the weekend.
- Freshman Maddie Lawson was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second week in a row. Lawson hit .353 (6-for-17) with three RBIs and three runs along with eight putouts and five assists. 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.
| ABOUT LIBERTY |
Head Coach: Dot Richardson (UCLA '83) - 268-198 (ninth season)/268-198 at Liberty (ninth season)
2022 Record: 8-6
All-Time Series: Flames lead 5-1
Flames to Watch:
Batting
Devyn Howard: .405 BA, 9 runs, 17 hits, 3 doubles, 7 RBIs
Caroline Hudson: .302 BA, 8 runs, 13 hits, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs
Lou Allan: .293 BA, 4 runs, 12 hits, 2 doubles, 7 RBIs
Pitching
Karlie Keeney: 5-2 W-L, 2.47 ERA, 45.1 IP, 23 Ks, 4 CGs
Megan Johnson: 1-0 W-L, 1.37 ERA, 15.1 IP, 12 Ks, 1 CG
| ABOUT NOTRE DAME |
2022 Record: 12-3
All-Time Series: Fighting Irish lead 33-8
Fighting Irish to Watch:
Batting
Abby Sweet: .444 BA, 14 runs, 20 hits, 3 HRs, 9 RBIs
Leea Hanks: .364 BA, 15 runs, 16 hits, 4 doubles, 7 RBIs
Emma Clark: .320 BA, 11 runs, 16 hits, 3 doubles, 6 RBIs
Pitching
Shannon Becker: 4-1 W-L, 1.27 ERA, 22 IP, 23 Ks, 2 CGs
Payton Tidd: 4-1 W-L, 2.21 ERA, 38 IP, 23 Ks, 1 SV
| ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON |
Head Coach: Chrissy Schoonmaker (South Carolina '07) - 5-7 (first season)/ 5-7 at South Carolina (first season)
2022 Record: 5-7
All-Time Series: First meeting
Colonials to Watch:
Batting
Alexa Williams: .324 BA, 6 runs, 11 hits, 9 RBIs
Alessandra Ponce: .324 BA, 2 runs, 11 hits, 3 doubles, 6 RBIs
Mia Parker: .303 BA, 4 runs, 10 hits, 4 doubles, 5 RBIs
Pitching
Sierra Lange: 5-4 W-L, 4.01 ERA, 51.2 IP, 54 Ks, 7 CGs
| ABOUT LEHIGH |
Head Coach: Fran Troyan (Allegheny '86) - 836-475-7 (27th season)/ 836-475-7 at Lehigh (27th season)
2022 Record: 2-3
All-Time Series: Scarlet Knights lead 7-6
Mountain Hawks to Watch:
Batting
Josie Charles: .417 BA, 1 run, 5 hits, 2 doubles
Emily Cimino: .389 BA, 7 hits, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 RBIs
Rory Dudley: .385 BA, 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 double, 1 RBI
Pitching
Gabriella Nori: 1-2 W-L, 2.05 ERA, 13.2 IP, 16 Ks, 1 CG
Katelyn Young: 1-1 W-L, 3.27 ERA, 15 IP, 15 Ks, 1 CG
| 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.
| 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 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 heads out to the ASU/Grand Canyon Classic to meet up with hosts Arizona State and Grand Canyon along with BYU, New Mexico State and Ball State.
Follow Rutgers softball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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