Softball Travels To Purdue For Last Regular Season B1G Road Matchup

Friday, April 29

West Lafayette, Ind.

4:00 PM (ET)

Rutgers University

Purdue

Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)

Softball Travels To Purdue For Last Regular Season B1G Road Matchup

Apr 27 | Softball

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Scarlet Knights head into the final two weeks of the regular season and take to the road for one more Big Ten road matchup. RU heads to West Lafayette, Indiana for a three-game series with Purdue beginning on Friday looking to secure a place in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.

SERIES INFO

Venue:	Bittinger Stadium \| West Lafayette, Indiana
Game Notes:	Rutgers \| Purdue
Statistics:	Ru tgers \| Purdue \| Big Ten
Live Stats & Video:	* UPDATED AS OF 4/28 - 2 p.m. * Friday, April 29 (DH) - 4:00 p.m. - Stats \| Video Friday, April 29 (DH) - 6:00 p.m. - Stats \| Video Sunday, May 1 - 12:00 p.m. - Stats \| Video
Social Media:	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram

ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

Rutgers closed out the Penn State series on a high note returning to the win column in a 3-1 victory last Sunday. The Scarlet Knights were powered by home runs from the bats of Payton Lincavage and Kayla Bock, who both connected on their third home runs of the year.
The Scarlet Knights held a 3-0 lead on the Nittany Lions thru five innings in the series opener last Friday as Katie Wingert blasted a three-run home run in the first. It was Wingert's first home run of the 2022 campaign and moved her into a tie for fifth all-time at Rutgers with 26 career home runs.
In Big Ten stats, Kyleigh Sand is currently the league leader in hits (63), third in stolen bases (22) and runs scored (46), fifth in on-base percentage (.508) and batting average (.412) and seventh in doubles (12). Gabrielle Callaway leads the league in RBIs (47) and sacrifice flies (6) while checking in seventh in home runs (10), ninth in hits (52) and 10th in batting average (.377), slugging percentage (.674), on base percentage (.468) runs scored (35).
Another featured among the league's stat pack top 10 is Payton Lincavage coming in ninth in runs scored (36) and second in triples (4). A trio of Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, are among the top 10 in doubles. Along with Sand's 12, Taylor Fawcett is ninth with 11 and Maddie Lawson is 10th with 10.
Rutgers softball entered conference play jumping out to a 21-10 record in its best start in 41 years.

ABOUT PURDUE

Head Coach: Boo De Oliveira (Wisconsin '06) - 123-1690 overall (sixth season)/123-160 at Purdue (sixth season)
2022 Record: 20-28 overall/3-13 Big Ten

All-Time Series: Scarlet Knights Lead 5-3

Boilermakers to Watch:
Batting
Rachel Becker: .415 BA, 35 runs, 54 hits, 12 doubles, 3 triples, 4 HRs, 14 RBIs
Alex Echazarreta: .346 BA, 17 runs 37 hits, 9 doubles, 7 HRs, 28 RBIs
Jade Moy: .259 BA, 22 runs, 37 hits, 6 doubles, four triples, 2 HRs, 15 RBIs

Pitching
Alex Echazarreta: 9-7 W-L, 3.63 ERA, 92.2 IP, 101 Ks, 4 CG
Brenna Smith: 3-10 W-L, 4.42 ERA, 82.1 IP, 31 Ks, 1 CG
Alexa Pinarski: 4-7 W-L, 5.17 ERA, 65.0 IP, 32 Ks,

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. She is also ninth in career strikeouts (239) and tied for fifth in season strikeouts (153).
Classmate Ashley Hitchcock is sixth all-time in strikeouts with 259 K's in her three seasons "On The Banks".
RU's catcher redshirt junior Katie Wingert is currently tied for fifth all-time in home runs with 23.
The 16 runs to open up the Rutgers Softball Tournament in the 16-0 victory over UMES were the most by the Scarlet Knights since an 18-9 victory over LIU Brooklyn back on April 28, 2015.
Taylor Fawcett registered an inside-the-park home run against Indiana on April 10, the first for the Scarlet Knights in over a decade. The last inside-the-park home run was Brittney Lindley against Texas Southern in a 9-1 victory back on February 26, 2011.
Sophomore Kayla Bock collected five RBIs in the 9-8 win over George Washington and Gabrielle Callaway had five RBIs in a win 9-2 over Minnesota. Both were the most by a Scarlet Knight in a game this season and most since Katie Wingert vs. Morgan State on March 16, 2019.
Rutgers has had four weekly honors from the Big Ten - the most by the squad since joining the league in 2014-15.

BIG TEN CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK - PART ONE

Graduate student outfielder Gabrielle Callaway was named the Big Ten Softball Co-Player of the Week for the week ending Mar. 27.
Callaway hit .714 (5-for-7) including three doubles and a grand slam with three runs and seven RBIs in Rutgers' Big Ten opening weekend against Minnesota. Her home run in game one with the Golden Gophers was her team-leading fifth of the season. Callaway's performance also extended her hit streak to eight and she has reached base safely in each of the last 15 contests.
The Mobile, Alabama led the Scarlet Knights to their first-ever win over Minnesota on Friday in a 9-2 victory. The left fielder went 2-for-2 with two runs and five RBIs, tying for the most by a Scarlet Knight this year. She helped RU overcome a 2-0 deficit after one and a half innings of play by garnering the RBI on her squad's first run of the day walking with the bases loaded. Callaway then smacked in a 2-2 count grand slam, her second career grand slam, in the third lifting RU to a 9-2 advantage.
In the Saturday 11-7 setback, Callaway was 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. She gave Rutgers the lead in the first on an RBI double. She led off the fifth with a single and was on base as Kobie Hura connected on a two-out, two-strike three-run home run to cut into the Golden Gopher lead and continue the game.
Callaway wrapped up her weekend going 1-for-2 with an RBI double in a 10-3 loss. Once again, the graduate student gave RU an early 1-0 lead on Minnesota in the first inning with a two-base hit. .

BIG TEN CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK - PART TWO

Rutgers sophomore Kyleigh Sand was named the Big Ten Softball Co-Player of the Week for the week ending Mar. 20. The shortstop guided the Scarlet Knights to a 5-1 record in their first home weekend of the season hitting .619 (13-for-21) with 10 runs and eight RBIs and was 6-for-6 on stolen bases.
In a 16-0 victory over UMES, Sand scored two runs in RU's nine-run first inning and added an RBI single in the Scarlet Knights' six-run second inning.
In the second game with the Hawks, the Scarlet Knights opened the second inning reached on with a bunt and scored to give RU a 2-0 edge before falling 4-3 to the Hawks in game two.
Sand helped Rutgers rebound the next day by batting .875 with seven hits, five RBIs, four runs and her first career home run in a pair of victories.
The Norco, California product was 4-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and runs scored in a 5-2 victory over Saint Peter's. She captured her first career home run to lead off the game against the Peacocks and proceeded to add an RBI single to tie up the game at 2-2 in the third. The Scarlet Knight then led off the sixth with her fourth hit of the contest and later scored the first of RU's three runs that lifted the Scarlet Knights to the win.
Sand was then 3-for-4 with a trio of RBIs and a pair of runs in a five-inning 8-0 victory against Fairfield. Once again she was responsible for the first run in a game where Rutgers scored every inning. She also added a run in the fourth making it a 6-0 ballgame.
On Saturday in an 8-0 win over Holy Cross she walked in the first of four Scarlet Knight runs in the fourth and later scored giving RU a 5-0 edge. Sand collected a base hit to kick off the sixth inning bringing her aboard to score on Gabrielle Callaway's walk-off home run.
Sand capped off the weekend with a two-out, ninth-inning walk-off to slay the Drexel Dragons in a 4-3 win. The Scarlet Knight tied the game up at 1-1 in the third reaching base on a bunt and using her speed to come home from second base on a Callaway single. In the ninth, she took a 2-2 count into right field to drive in the game-winning.

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

Rutgers concludes the regular season hosting Michigan State in a three-game series starting on Friday, May 6th. On Saturday, May 7th Rutgers will honor its lone senior - Gabrielle Callaway. Admission is free to all games.

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