Highlights
NEWARK, N.J. (April 18, 2015) – The Rutgers-Newark softball team swept Richard Stockton in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) doubleheader Saturday at Alumni Field in Newark.
The doubleheader sweep is the first over Richard Stockton in program history as Rutgers improves to 11-17 overall and 3-11 in the NJAC. Stockton drops to 14-13 and 4-10 in the conference.
Game 1Each side put a pair of runners on in the first but R-N starter
Kelly Yusko and Stockton starter Brittany Ksiezopolski were able to get out of trouble, with Yusko sending down the Ospreys in order in the second.
Richard Stockton broke through with four runs in the third, loading the bases with nobody out and getting two-run hits from first baseman Dominique Dorris and Ksiezopolski.
The Scarlet Raiders responded in the third, getting three runs back on three hits and an error. Sophomore
Anna Carlson started the inning with a one-out single, and Yusko reached on an error. Following a groundout, second baseman
Kayla Gallo ripped a two-run ground-rule-double down the left field line and catcher
Sam Held singled to right to plate Gallo.
The Scarlet Raiders put runners on second and third to start the fifth thanks to a single from Yusko and ground-rule-double off the bat of first baseman
Toniann Donde. Freshman Hannah Bibeault came on in relief after the double and was able to get a flyout in which center fielder Nicole Tomo threw out Yusko at the plate for a double play. Despite the big blow, Held delivered her second run-scoring hit of the game, lacing a two-out single to left.
Stockton went back in front when Bibeault delivered a two-run homer to left in just her sixth at-bat of the season, but that lead would be short lived as the Scarlet Raiders answered with a trio of runs in their half of the sixth. Shortstop
Vannessa Romero singled on the first pitch of the inning, and runners made it to second and third with nobody out after an error. Another error allowed Romero to score, and center fielder
Kelsey Lucas tied the game at 6-all with a sacrifice fly to center field. The winning run crossed the plate thanks to a Carlson groundout, and Yusko did the rest, working around a two-out walk to lock up the win.
Rutgers-Newark picked up 10 hits in the opener, led by a 3-for-4 performance from Yusko. Held finished 2-for-3 with two RBI's and Gallo was 1-for-3 with two RBI's and a run scored. Yusko scattered 13 hits and struck out two in her seventh win of the season (7-7).
Left fielder Marisa Ortiz finished 4-for-4 to lead three Stockton players with multiple hits.
Game 2All of the scoring was completed in the first three innings of the second game. The Scarlet Raiders scored a single run in the first and three in the third, while the Ospreys plated single runs in the second and third.
Yusko was responsible for the first R-N run, driving in Lucas with a long single to center field after Lucas led off with a base hit of her own.
Down 2-1 in the third, Carlson picked up her second hit of the game with a single to left field. Yusko flied to deep right-center for the second out of the inning, but Donde was next, coming through in a major way with a two-run homer to straight-away center field to give Rutgers-Newark a lead it would never relinquish. The homer was a towering shot and was her second of the season. Gallo followed with a double and was driven in by Held to stake R-N starter
Morgan Walizer to a two-run lead.
Walizer worked around a two-out double in the fourth, retired the side in the fifth and sixth, working around a one-out walk in the seventh. The freshman hurler earned her fourth win (4-5) of the season with a sterling complete-game performance, allowing just two runs (one earned) on six hits, striking out four.
Rutgers-Newark again finished with 10 hits, as Carlson went 3-for-4 and Donde was 2-for-4 with two RBI's.
Both Yusko and Carlson each finished the afternoon with four hits.
The Scarlet Raiders will return to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they host Brooklyn College for two at Alumni Field.
