NEWARK, N.J. (April 23, 2015) – The Rutgers-Newark softball team pushed its winning streak to five games with a convincing doubleheader sweep of Baruch College on Senior Day. R-N took game one by a 13-1 final, pocketing a 19-0 shutout in the nightcap.
 
The Scarlet Raiders improve to 16-18 on the season with four games remaining – a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader at nationally-ranked Rowan University on Saturday and a twinbill at New York University Sunday. Baruch falls to 5-19 in defeat.
 
Between the two contests, Rutgers-Newark honored three student-athletes playing in their final home contest on Alumni Field – sophomore Anna Carlson who will finish her degree in Engineering at Rutgers-New Brunswick and seniors Toniann Donde and Vannessa Romero.
 
Game 1
Second baseman Kayla Gallo broke a scoreless tie leading off the second inning, connecting on her second homer of the year. Freshman Kelly Yusko retired the side in order to get the Scarlet Raiders back on offense, and in the third inning R-N pushed across six runs and batted around.
 
Right fielder Elizabeth Marflak led off the third with a single, before the next two hitters were retired on flyouts. Yusko singled before Donde ripped a double to left to drive in Marflak. Yusko scored on a wild pitch, Gallo doubled in Donde for her second RBI of the game, and Romero drove in two with double to left, eventually scoring on a wild pitch.
 
Yusko gave up her first hit in the fourth and Baruch scored their lone run (unearned) of the doubleheader, but Yusko worked her way out of the jam as the Raiders batted around again in their half of the fourth. Held started things with a one-out double to left and Carlson reached on an error. Yusko singled to drive in Held, with center field Kelsey Lucas, Romero and Marflak all tallying RBI's for Rutgers-Newark.
 
Yusko cruised through the fifth, earning her 10th win of the season, going 5.0 innings and striking out seven. She has not allowed an earned run in her last three starts – all wins.
 
The Scarlet Raiders banged out 10 hits in the opener. Gallo led the way, going 3-for-3 with three RBI's and three runs scored. Romero finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI's and Yusko finished 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI.
 
Game 2
Junior starting pitcher Jess Cannon was strong in picking up her first win of the season, going the distance and allowing just three hits, striking out four and walking none.
 
The Scarlet Raiders scored nine runs on a single hit in the first inning, sending 14 to the plate. Rutgers-Newark worked nine walks and one batter was hit by a pitch. Lucas walked twice and scored twice, with Donde tallying a hit, run and walk in the first.
 
The Scarlet Raiders scored five runs in the second. Romero led off and was hit by a pitch and designated player Nikki Sammartino doubled. An error allowed Romero to score before Marflak came through with an RBI base hit. Lucas tripled to bring in a pair, with a double from Gallo closing the second-inning scoring.
 
In the third, Newark scored five more. Carlson roped a run-scoring single to left to drive in freshman Maria Rayfield, and Donde blasted a grand slam. The Donde homer was launched high into the twilight sky for her third of the year, knocking in Lucas, Carlson and pinch hitter Morgan Walizer who singled earlier in the inning.
 
Lucas was 2-for-2 with two walks, scoring three times and driving in three. Carlson was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs, with Donde finishing 2-for-2 with a walk, two runs scored and six runs batted in. Romero scored twice, as did Samartino who also had a hit and an RBI, and Rayfield went 1-for-2 with three runs scored and an RBI.
 
On the current five-game winning streak, Rutgers-Newark has outscored its opponents 55-4.