Softball Falls In Opening Round Of NISC Against UC San Diego

Saturday, May 21

Fort Collins, Colo.

3:30 PM (ET)

Rutgers University

25-29

UC San Diego

28-26

UC San Diego

Rutgers

Photo by: Isaiah Vazquez

Softball Falls In Opening Round Of NISC Against UC San Diego

May 21 | Softball

Box Score Box Score - NISC Round One - UC San Diego

FORT COLLINS, Colorado – The National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) games were back on after a one-day delay due to weather on Saturday. Rutgers softball powered out to a 5-0 lead in their opening-round contest with UC San Diego, however, the Tritons punched back in the later innings to take down the Scarlet Knights, 7-5.

Rutgers dropped to 25-29 with the loss in the double-elimination tournament.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Junior Payton Lincavage and sophomore Kayla Bock both collected home runs leading to an early 5-0 Scarlet Knight edge. Lincavage, who hit her fifth home run of the year, went 2-for-4 on the day with two RBIs. Bock, meanwhile, delivered a two-run blast, her fourth home run of the season.
First Team All-Big and First Team All-Region selections Kyleigh Sand and Gabrielle Callaway along with junior Taylor Fawcett also collected runs in the loss.
Nine different Scarlet Knights logged a hit as Rutgers captured double-digit hits for the 12th time this season.
Junior Jaden Vickers got the starting nod tossing 5.1 innings and striking out five. Classmate Ashley Hitchcock took the loss dropping to 11-18 inside the circle allowing two runs on four hits while striking out three.

THE RUNDOWN

Taylor Fawcett connected on the first of RU's 10 hits in the bottom of the second with a two-out double to center and then gave the Scarlet Knights a 1-0 lead coming on a Katie Wingert's single to right-center.
Rutgers extended its lead in the third on a pair of home runs. Payton Lincavage went over the wall in right-center for a solo shot, while Kayla Bock lifted the ball over the 14er mountain portion of the fence in left field. Bock's blast also scored Gabrielle Callaway, who reached on a double, giving a 4-0 advantage to RU.
Kyleigh Sand rounded the bases for her team-leading 49th run of the year putting the Scarlet Knights up 5-0 at the end of four innings. RU put together three-straight base hits culminating in Lincavage's chopper to short allowing Sand to score from second base.
UC San Diego, however, came back with four runs in the fifth and two runs in the sixth for the lead and added an insurance run in its final at-bat.
In the fifth, the Tritons collected five hits with the top of the order driving in runs. Deena Pederson had an RBI single thru the left side and a three-run home run from the bat of Bobbi Aguirre narrowed RU's lead to one, 5-4.
The opposition took advantage of the bases being loaded with two outs in the sixth as Pederson drove in two more runs sending the ball thru the infield for a 6-5 Triton lead.
UCSD's Isabel Lavrov opened the seventh with a solo home run putting her squad up 7-5.

UP NEXT

Rutgers softball will play UNLV on Monday, May 23 at 3:30 p.m. (ET) in the super regional elimination bracket of the NISC.

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