Rutgers Softball will no doubt be happy to see their home turf when they return to action this week after a road trip that saw them lose six straight against conference opponents.
The stretch began on April 1 when the Knights opened a three-game series with Nebraska. Jaden Vickers, who has unquestionably been the ace of the staff this year for the Knights, surrendered nine earned runs in just five and two-thirds innings of work. In all, the Cornhuskers amassed 12 runs on nine hits and were aided by five walks as they cruised past the Scarlet Knights, 12-4. The Knights opened the scoring in the game with three runs in the top of the first, but after Nebraska answered with one in the bottom of the inning and four more in the bottom of the second, the Cornhuskers never looked back. For Vickers, it was only her fourth loss of the season, while Nebraska’s Courtney Wallace took the win.
Game two of the series was a much more tightly contested one, which featured Rutgers’ sparkplug Kyleigh Sand collecting two hits to extend her hitting streak to 11 games. But while Ashley Hitchcock pitched a gem in the circle surrendering only two runs in the contest, the Knights’ offense could not find their rhythm against Cornhuskers starter Olivia Ferrell. When the Knights finally did push across a run in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly to close the margin to one run, Nebraska returned Wallace to the circle, and the senior righthander shut down Rutgers for the last two innings to preserve the 2-1 victory. Hitchcock took her tenth defeat of the season.
In the series’ final game, the Cornhuskers bats once again exploded, scoring three in the second inning and five in the third, staking them to an 8-0 lead. Cornhuskers starter Kaylin Kinney was dominant, surrendering only one hit in the contest, a third inning single by Leilani Chavez. Hitchcock was removed after two innings in favor of Vickers, but absorbed her eleventh loss of the season as the Knights dropped the final game of the series, 9-0. The game also marked the end of Kyleigh Sand’s hitting streak.
With five days to rest and reset, the Knights opened up their third Big Ten series of the year on April 8 against Indiana. Down 2-0 in the top of the fourth, Rutgers took the lead 3-2 when Kobie Hura smacked a double to center field, scoring Taylor Fawcett with the go-ahead run. Despite adding another run in the top of the fifth, Hitchcock was unable to hold the lead as the Hoosiers rallied for three in the bottom of the inning. After adding an insurance run off Vickers in the bottom of the sixth, the Hoosiers took game one of the series, 6-4. Hitchcock took the loss, and now stands at 9-12 for the year.
In game two of the series on Saturday, Vickers was again in the circle and was seemingly cruising as she surrendered only one run in the first four innings. But the Hoosier bats broke loose in the fifth when Brianna Copeland tripled, driving home two runs, and giving Indiana a 4-2 lead. They added one more on an error by Sand to extend their lead to 5-2. The Knights rallied to close the gap to 5-4, but Macy Montgomery held on for the win in relief of starting pitcher Heather Johnson.
Sunday’s contest was no better, as after the demoralizing loss from Saturday night, IU returned Copeland to the circle to square off against Vickers. With Rutgers leading 3-2, the Hoosiers turned once again to Montgomery, and the sophomore delivered, keeping the Scarlet Knight bats quiet long enough to see Indiana score six times in the fourth inning, knocking Vickers out of the game. Hitchcock went the rest of the way, but the Hoosiers took the game 11-6. Fawcett and Gabrielle Callaway led the Knights with two hits apiece, while Vickers took her sixth loss of the season, to fall to 14-6.
Rutgers stands at 23-18 on the year, and dropped to 1-8 in Big Ten conference play. Now 2-9 on the road this season, the Knights return home on Tuesday, April 12 against Seton Hall (14-16), as they look to end their current six-game losing streak. They then return to Big Ten conference action when they host Illinois on April 15, 16 and 17 at the Rutgers Softball Complex.
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