Friday, February 7
Leesburg, Fla.
4:00 PM
Rutgers University
1-0
6
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2
Cleveland State
0-1
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6
7
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H
E
Rutgers
3
1
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6
8
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Cleveland State
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8
5
Photo by: Tom Gilbert
Softball Opens Season With Victory Over Cleveland State; Harrison Tosses 10 Strikeouts Against MTSU
Feb 08 | Softball
LEESBURG, Fla. -- Rutgers softball is back and opened the 2025 campaign at the Spring Games with a 6-2 victory over Horizon League Champion Cleveland State while freshman Ella Harrison made her circle debut with 10 strikeouts in an 8-1 set back to MTSU.
Rutgers 6, Cleveland State 2
| STATISTICALLY SPEAKING |
- The Scarlet Knights put away three runs in the top of the first and never looked back.
- Redshirt freshman Hailey Stripling made her Scarlet Knight debut scoring three of RU's six runs.
- Senior Jillian Anderson was 2-for-2 with an RBI double.
- Graduate student LA Matthews added a pair of RBIs.
- Inside the circle, freshman Kelsey Hoekstra went six innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits. Senior Laurelai DePew finished out the game with a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh
| THE RUNDOWN |
- Rutgers plated three in its first at-bat of the season. Hailey Stripling led off with a walk and rounded the bases two batters later on a hard hit to short from LA Matthews. Matthews later scored on a passed ball while Bailey Briggs delivered a single setting up Baileigh Burtis to score for the 3-0 edge.
- The Vikings responded with a pair of runs in their first at-bat to cut into the RU lead. With runners in scoring position, Kylie Gorsuch used a sac fly to get onto the scoreboard while Delaney Ellis singled to center field with two outs for the RBIs.
- Jillian Anderson added some cushion in the third cracking a double to left field for Stripling's second run of the game. Stripling reached on an error and stole second to take advantage of Anderson's extra-base hit.
- The Scarlet Knights got out of a jam in the bottom of the fifth as Cleveland State had Vikings in scoring position with two outs. Pitcher Kelsey Hoesktra came up with a big stop inside the circle to retire the side.
- RU took advantage of fielding miscues in the sixth to push its lead out to 6-2. Addie Osborne led off with a single to first while Hailey Stripling reached on a dropped ball at first on a sac bunt. Anderson followed, also attempting to advance runners on a bunt, but the throw from the third base line missed its target, pushing Osborne across. Matthews followed with a sac fly to left giving Stripling her third run of the game.
- Laurelai DePew closed out the game catching the final two Vikings swinging.
MTSU 8, Rutgers 1
| STATISTICALLY SPEAKING |
- Ella Harrison notched double-figure strikeouts in the start. Sending down 10 Blue Raiders on strikes, Harrison became the first Scarlet Knight freshman pitcher since Jaden Vickers in 2020 to debut with double-figure Ks.
- The game was tied 1-1 when MTSU put up six in the top of the fourth to take the lead.
- RU generated hits from seven different Scarlet Knights with pinch hitter Kelsie Riggan scoring RU's lone run in the third.
- Senior Georgia Ingle finished the final two innings with one run on one hit and a pair of strikeouts.
| THE RUNDOWN |
- While Ella Harrion's first appearance on the rubber resulted in a trio of Blue Raiders going down swinging, it was MTSU's Ansley Blevins who put her squad on the scoreboard first with an RBI double to right.
- Rutgers knotted the score at 1-1 in the third. Hailey Stripling singled up the middle as pinch runner Kelsie Riggans scored from second base.
- MTSU came up big in the sixth, capturing six runs on seven hits, including an Ava Brooks two-run home run and a two-RBI triple to right center for Macie Harter. Harter would later score on a wild pitch and A Harvey added an RBI single to left.
- Harter led off the sixth with a double and plated the final run of the game off a Blevins sac fly to left.
| UP NEXT |
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- RU -
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hoekstra, Kelsey (1-0)
L: Melissa Holzopfel (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Anderson, Jillian 1
RBI: Anderson, Jillian 1 ; Matthews, LA 2
SH: Stripling, Hailey 1 ; Anderson, Jillian 1
SF: Matthews, LA 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stripling, Hailey 3 ; Matthews, LA 1 ; Burtis, Baileigh 1 ; Osborne, Addie 1
SB: Stripling, Hailey 2 ; Briggs, Bailey 1 ; Kraska, Stephanie 2
Batting:
2B: Kylie Gorsuch 1
RBI: Kylie Gorsuch 1 ; Delaney Ellis 1
SF: Kylie Gorsuch 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sydney Shammo 1 ; Melissa Holzopfel 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
3
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
1B/P
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball1B/UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF/OF
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