NJAC Standings

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (April 21, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark softball team improved to 6-6 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference and 20-11 overall with a league sweep of New Jersey City University Saturday in Jersey City.
 
The Scarlet Raiders won the opener 10-2 in five innings, and took a tight nightcap, 4-3.
 
Newark's wins are exactly what it needed as the ladies look for a spot in the upcoming conference tournament. R-N will host Rowan on Tuesday, visit Ramapo on Friday and travel to Stockton Saturday.
 
"We did what we needed to on the road today and that was great to see," said Head Coach Kristen Hunt after the wins. "We still have six big conference games left, but getting back to .500 in the league was important as we head into the final week of the regular season."
 
Rutgers-Newark has already doubled its conference win total from 2017 with its six NJAC triumphs, and the two wins get the Scarlet Raiders to 20 which is one victory off the program record of 21 set back in 2016.
 
Rutgers-Newark 10, NJCU 2                     
The Scarlet Raiders scored two runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back, cruising to an eight-run five-inning win over the Gothic Knights.

Senior Kelly Yusko – who earned the win in the circle with four innings of two-hit shutout ball - doubled in the first run of the game, plating freshman Jacklyn Arute. Freshman Julie Contravo followed with a double of her own to bring in Yusko, and freshman Angela Haines came through with a sacrifice fly to put the Scarlet Raiders up 3-0 in the third. Sophomore Brielle Mattiello made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly, and a single tally in the fifth via a Sarah Stiehler sacrifice fly pushed the lead to five (5-0).
 
Rutgers blew the game open with five runs in the fifth. Yusko had an RBI single and an error allowed the next two Raider markers to cross. The final pair came in to score on base hits off the bat of senior Kayla Gallo and Stiehler.
 
Senior Morgan Walizer went the final two innings in the circle for the Scarlet Raiders, as Newark pounded out 15 hits in the game. Walizer went 3-for-4 and Yusko finished 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. Senior Morgan Scweitzer also went 3-for-4, and Stiehler was 2-for-2 with two RBI and a walk.
 
Rutgers-Newark 4, NJCU 3
The guests scored three runs in the fourth inning to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead, and the Scarlet Raiders were able to hang on late for the win.
 
NJCU scored two runs on four hits in the first, with Rutgers-Newark rallying for a run in the top of the second. Junior Samantha Hoffman walked and stole second to get into scoring position, and Arute tripled her home, slicing the deficit to one.
 
Freshman pitcher Paige Masiello kept NJCU off the board in innings two, three and four, giving her team a chance to take the lead with three in the fourth. Freshman Sam Morton doubled to lead off, and Hoffman doubled her home. A double for Walizer gave Rutgers-Newark its first lead of the game, and a single for Yusko capped the Raiders' scoring.
 
Yusko came on and tossed the final three frames, allowing a run on four hits to pick up the win (7-5). Masiello went the first four innings, scattering six hits and giving up two earned runs.
 
Yusko went 3-for-4 at the plate to finish the doubleheader 6-for-8 to lead a Newark offense that totaled 11 hits. Arute and Walizer each went 2-for-4 as did Schweitzer, and Hoffman had a hit and a team-best two runs scored.
 
Up Next: Rutgers-Newark hosts Rowan University in an NJAC doubleheader Tuesday on Alumni Field. First pitch of the opener is slated for 3 p.m.