PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers softball, which has opened conference play with the top four teams in batting average in the league, was back to Big Ten play on Friday dropping a 9-5 contest to the conference's top offense in Illinois at the Rutgers Softball Complex.
The Fighting Illini won their eighth straight to improve to 24-13 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten. Rutgers, meanwhile, fell to 23-20 on the year and 1-9 in league play
Â
- Senior Taylor Lane was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs capturing her first career home run.
- Junior Payton Lincavage dropped in her fourth triple of the year.
- Sophomore Kayleigh Sand hit 2-for-3 with her team-leading 43 run and extended her on-base streak to 24.
- Redshirt junior Katie Wingert went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
- Junior Ashley Hitchcock started the contest and dropped to 9-14 in the circle.
- Illinois used four hits to jump out to a 4-0 lead on its second trip to the trip. Kailee Powell connected on a three-run home run and Avery Steiner added an RBI double.
- Rutgers got onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. Payton Lincavage led off taking the first pitch into right field for three bases and scored two batters later on a Katie Wingert hit to right.
- The Fighting Illini, however, went back up by four runs as Kelly Ryono added a solo home run in the third for a 5-1 advantage.
- Taylor Lane and Kyleigh Sand led off the bottom of the inning putting themselves into scoring position for Gabrielle Callaway to send them home on a double to left.
- Illinois went through the order in the fourth generating another four runs on four hits and an error for a 9-3 lead.
- Lane narrowed the deficit in the bottom of the fourth with her first career home run, a two-run dinger to left that also scored Kobie Hura.
Game two of the series between Rutgers and Illinois is slated to get underway on Saturday at 3 p.m. Sunday's finale has been moved up to a noon start. Admission to all games is free.
Follow Rutgers softball onÂ
Facebook,Â
Twitter andÂ
Instagram.
Â
- RU -Â
