NEW YORK, N.Y. (April 26, 2015) – The Rutgers-Newark softball team swept host New York University in the team's final two regular-season games Sunday, taking a 6-3 triumph in the opener and coming back to win a back-and-forth nightcap, 11-7.
 
The Scarlet Raiders improve to 18-20, while NYU drops to 8-22. 

After being stymied offensively at Rowan on Saturday, Rutgers-Newark broke out for 17 runs, and closed the 2015 season winning 10 of its final 13 games.
 
Game 1
The Scarlet Raiders did all their damage early in the opener, taking a 6-0 lead after two which was more than enough for pitcher Kelly Yusko who improved to 11-8 this season. Catcher Sam Held led off the game with a single, and a ground-rule-double from sophomore Anna Carlson put runners at second and third with nobody out. Yusko came next and helped her own cause with a double down the right-field line to bring home both runners.
 
In the second, it was Yusko again, delivering a base hit to bring in Held, right fielder Elizabeth Marflak and Carlson. Marflak and Held had walked, and Carlson reached on a fielder's choice. Yusko crossed the plate when first baseman Toniann Donde single through the left side.
 
Carlson and Yusko each went 2-for-4. Carlson scored twice, with Yusko driving in four and scoring once. Held was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, and both Donde and center fielder Kelsey Lucas went 2-for-4. Rutgers-Newark totaled 12 hits in game one.
 
Yusko ran in to some trouble in the seventh, as the Violets scored three times in the inning on four hits. She allowed three runs (all earned), scattering 10 hits and striking out four.
 
Game 2
Seven runs were scored in the first inning of the second game, three for the Raiders and four for NYU. Yusko drilled her ninth home run of the year to left-center field, a two-run shot with one out in the first. Romero then came through with a two-out hit to drive in freshman Kayla Gallo as the Raiders had five hits in the inning and a 3-0 lead.
 
NYU scored four runs on three hits to take the lead, but Rutgers-Newark regained the edge after a two-run second. Freshman Nikki Sammartino doubled to start the inning, and rookie Maria Rayfield doubled down the left-field line to bring home Sammartino to tie the game, and after a single from Held, a Carlson groundout allowed Rayfield to be Rutgers-Newark's fifth run of the game.
 
NYU overtook the Raiders with two runs on three hits in the third inning, extending the lead to two (7-5) in the fourth.
 
Marflak singled in Donde in the fifth to make it a 7-6 game after Donde walked with one out, and the Scarlet Raiders put up a crooked number (3) in the sixth to regain the lead. The big hit came from Donde who laced a two-out two-run double to left, driving in Yusko and Carlson who had both singled. Carlson's single tied the game moments earlier as all three R-N runs in the inning came with two outs.
 
Starting pitcher Jess Cannon retired the hosts in order in the sixth, inducing a fly out, ground out and foul out, and a Yusko two-run double scored Carlson (single) and Held (walk) for the final margin.
 
Cannon went the distance for her second win of the season, allowing seven runs (all earned) on nine hits.
 
Yusko led the R-N offense again, driving in four more runs, scoring twice and finishing 3-for-5. The freshman was 5-for-9 in the doubleheader with eight RBI's. Donde tallied another 2-for-4 performance, with two doubles and two RBI's to finish her day 4-for-8, and Carlson ended her day 5-for-9 after a 3-for-5, three-run, two-RBI masterpiece in game two. Held was 2-for-4 with two runs, and both Rayfield and Sammartino had two hits and a run scored.
 
The Scarlet Raiders finished the game with 17 hits, and had a combined 29 in the doubleheader, averaging more than two knocks per inning.