MONTCLAIR, N.J. (April 14, 2015) – The Rutgers-Newark softball team fell in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) doubleheader at Montclair State University Tuesday afternoon.
The Scarlet Raiders' bid for a comeback in game one fell short, falling by a score of 12-8. In the nightcap, the Red Hawks prevailed, 5-1. The Scarlet Raiders drop to 1-11 in the NJAC and 8-16 overall, while MSU improves to 11-15 overall and 5-7 in the conference.
The Scarlet Raiders will return to action on Wednesday when they host Hunter College in a non-conference tilt at Alumni Field. It will be the team's first games at home since Sunday, April 5.
Game 1Montclair State opened an 8-0 lead in the opener and things did not look good for Raiders. However, rather than folding up and turning their attention to game two, R-N battled mightily in a bid to earn its second NJAC win of the season.
In the fifth, Rutgers-Newark started its comeback, scoring four runs with two outs. Freshman
Elizabeth Marflak walked, junior
Kelsey Lucas singled, and freshman catcher
Sam Held drove in the first Scarlet Raider run of the day with a single to right field. Sophomore
Anna Carlson followed for Rutgers-Newark, blasting a three-run homer to make it an 8-4 game. It was her first home run of the season.
Senior
Toniann Donde made it a three-run contest with a leadoff homer in the top half of the sixth inning, but the Red Hawks were able to extend their lead back to seven with four runs in the sixth on four hits and an error.
Faced with another large deficit, Rutgers-Newark again battled back, pushing across three runs in its final turn at bat. Held reached base on an error to start the inning and Carlson walked. After a fly out, Donde reached on an error and the bases were full with one out. Another fly out brought Rutgers-Newark down to its final out, but another error allowed the seventh run of the game to score. The fourth MSU error of the inning brought the tying run to the plate, but Brook Powers was able to get the groundout she needed to close out the win.
Donde led a Rutgers-Newark offense that tallied eight runs on six hits. The veteran finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Carlson's homer highlited a 1-for-3 performance with three RBI's and two runs scored, and Held was 1-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Lucas ended the opener 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Freshman
Morgan Walizer suffered the loss (1-5) for the Scarlet Raiders, with Power moving to 8-11 with the win.
Game 2Freshman
Kelly Yusko pitched well in innings one and two for Rutgers-Newark, keeping the Red Hawks off the board, but in the third, Montclair State scored four times on four hits. The big blow was a three-run homer off the bat of pitcher Brook Powers who started both games in the circle for MSU. In total, Power went 14 innings, allowed nine total runs (six earned) and picked up two wins.
MSU extended its lead in the fifth inning before a
Kelsey Lucas homer with one out in the sixth got the Raiders on the scoreboard. It was the second home run of 2015 for Lucas.
Rutgers-Newark recorded eight hits in the nightcap as Held, Carlson and Yusko all went 2-for-4. Lucas was 1-for-2 with a homer, and Marflak was 1-for-3.
Yusko went the distance, scattering eight hits and allowing five runs (all earned). She walked none and struck out none and is now 5-6 on the season.
Carlson finished the day 3-for-7 with three RBI's to lead the R-N bats.
