Softball Captures No-Hitter Versus NCCU, Falls To No. 4 Tennessee On Opening Day

Feb 06 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1 - NCCU Box Score Game 2 - Tennessee Box Score

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Rutgers softball opened the 2026 season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic on Friday with the Scarlet Knights winning game one 5-0 on a Kelsey Hoekstra no-hitter and falling 9-1 in five innings to No. 4 Tennessee in game two.

Rutgers 5, North Carolina Center 0

Kelsey Hoekstra no-hitter vs NCCU graphic

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Sophomore right-hander Kelsey Hoekstra led RU to the season-opening victory with her first career no-hitter and a career-high nine strikeouts. Only two Eagles were allowed to reach, on a walk in the first and hit batter in the fourth.
Classmate Riley Hwang punched in the first Scarlet Knight run of the year on a stolen base in the fifth and added a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Rookie Etta Garofalo came to the plate to pinch hit and deliver a two-RBI chopper past second base to put RU up 3-0 in the fifth.
Senior Siera Hoekstra captured RU's first home run of the year with a solo shot in the seventh and finished the game with two runs scored.

THE RUNDOWN

Baileigh Burtis, Sam Rohwer and Riley Hwang connected for the first double play of the season to end the first inning while the Eagles went down 1-2-3 in the second and third. Kelsey Hoekstra retired the side in the second with back-to-back strikeouts and added two more in the third.
NCCU added a base runner in the fourth after Izabella Chavez was hit by a pitch, but it would the final Eagle on base as the next 10 were all retired with Hoekstra picking up a pair of strikeouts in the fifth and sixth.
The Scarlet Knights broke the scoreless stalemate in the fourth on a stolen base. Riley Hwang opened up the top half with a single in shallow left center, advanced on a passed ball, took third on pinch hitter Samantha Delhoyo's bunt before stealing home.
Later in the fourth, the bases were loaded with two outs, setting up pinch hitter Etta Garofalo to drive in two more runs. Scoring on the play were Siera Hoekstra and Bailey Briggs to put RU up 3-0.
Charleigh Schuettler garnered her first collegiate hit, a double to left, in the seventh and advanced to third on a passed ball. Hwang flew out to right field, but Schuttler tagged up and scored for Rutgers' 4-0 advantage.
In the seventh, Siera Hoekstra took a 2-1 count over the fence in right for a solo home run for the game's final run.

KNIGHT NOTES

Rutgers has had a no-hitter in each of the last three seasons. Hoekstra's no-hitter joins former Scarlet Knight Ella Harrison's 1-0 win over North Dakota on March 7, 2025 and Mattie Boyd's 2-0 victory against Army on February 16, 2024.
Hoekstra's nine strikeouts were a career-high, surpassing her previous best of five in a 6-4 win in the finale of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last February 22.
Siera Hoekstra's home run was the third of her career having also knocked the ball out of the park against Wagner in the 2025 home opener last March 11 and in the first Big Ten series of the year versus Maryland on March 15, 2025.
Freshman and newcomers earning starting spots in the season opener were Sam Rohwer at second base, Makenna Coleman in left field, Mia Mitchell in right field and Charleigh Schuettler behind the plate.

#4 Tennessee 9, Rutgers 1 (5)

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Sophomore Addie Osborne knocked in RU's lone run on a solo home run in the top of the fourth.
Freshman Charleigh Schuettler and sophomore Riley Hwang also collected hits.
Junior Brooke Shifflett got the start against the fourth-ranked Lady Vols. Freshman Marley Caldwell and sophomore Kassandra Gewecke also made their Scarlet Knight debuts in the circle. Gewecke struck out a pair of Lady Vols.

THE RUNDOWN

The Lady Vols took a 6-0 advantage after their first at-bat. Tennessee used three hits while capitalizing on three wild pitches and an error.
Tennessee's Makenzie Butt added a two-run shot to center in the second.
Addie Osborne responded at the top of the next inning with the long ball to straight away center to put RU on the scoreboard.
The Lady Vols tacked on a run to end the fourth after an infield miscue for the final margin

UP NEXT

Rutgers continues action at the NFCA Leadoff Classic on Saturday with South Alabama at 1 p.m. and Southeastern Louisiana at 3 p.m. Live stream of both contests will be available on GameChanger and live stats will be available on Statbroadcast.

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