Following on their season opening success at the Houston Invitational Tournament, a confident Scarlet Knights squad rolled into Miami to begin their competition in the Panther Invitational.
Through their first five games of the year, RU had outscored opponents 43-18, so there was no reason to think that the results would be any different in South Florida.
GAME ONE....
First up for Rutgers were the Army Black Knights in a Friday morning confrontation, and it was evident from the start that the Scarlet Knights had come to play.
In the top of the first, last week’s Big Ten Player of the Week, catcher Katie Wingert, doubled off the center field wall, driving home L.A. Matthews with the first run of the game. Wingert was then driven home by the very next batter, when left fielder Jillian Anderson doubled, putting the Scarlet Knights up by two.
But the prolific offense that marked their performances last weekend was not on display against the Black Knights. After the first inning, Rutgers would not push across a single run for the remainder of the contest. Fortunately for the Scarlet Knights, starting pitcher Mattie Boyd was busy hurling a complete-game no-hit gem, striking out nine on the way to her third win of the young season as RU prevailed, 2-0.
The Knight Report’s three stars of the game:
First star of the game: Mattie Boyd. Seven-inning complete-game no-hit shutout victory, with nine strikeouts.
Second star of the game: Katie Wingert. 1-for-2, walk, double, game-winning RBI.
Third star of the game: Jillian Anderson. 1-for-3, double, one RBI.
GAME TWO...
The Scarlet Knights then faced off against the tenth-ranked Duke Blue Devils in their second game on Friday afternoon. Once again it was Wingert who provided the first Rutgers RBI with a home run to left center field in the bottom of the second inning.
Wingert’s solo shot was her sixth of the season. It was also the end of the Scarlet Knights’ scoring.
Duke managed to draw even in the top of the fifth inning when catcher Kelly Torres homered to tie the game, 1-1.
The contest remained deadlocked in a pitching duel as Duke starter Jala Wright held the Scarlet Knights to just three hits. But in the top of the seventh, two critical infield errors by RU sparked a three-run rally for the Blue Devils, leading to the final margin of victory and a 4-1 win over Rutgers.
The Knight Report’s three stars of the game:
First star of the game: Katie Wingert. 1-for-2, walk, home run, one RBI, one run scored.
Second star of the game: Morgan Smith. Six innings pitched, one earned run surrendered, seven strikeouts.
Third star of the game: Payton Lincavage. 1-for-3, two putouts in the field.
GAME THREE....
Looking to change their fortunes, the Scarlet Knights took to the field on Saturday for a double-header against FIU.
As has been the pattern this season, Rutgers jumped out to the quick lead as Kyleigh Sand singled in the first, and was then driven home when Smith homered, giving the Knights a 2-0 lead.
But, a more recent pattern has been that after the initial scoring, the Rutgers bats fall silent, which is what happened against Florida International.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the second, FIU third baseman Kaleena Downing singled to center field, bringing home sophomore Makayla Navarro with the tying run. One inning later, an RBI single by senior outfielder Bailey Grossenbacher drove home Zamya McBurrows, and FIU took the lead, 3-2.
The Knights managed to pull even in the top of the fifth after Sand walked, then stole second and came home on an RBI single by L.A. Matthews. However, FIU struck back in the bottom of the sixth, and took the game, 4-3, as Boyd suffered her first loss of the season. Junior Jordyn Ages collected the win for the Golden Panthers.
The Knight Report’s three stars of the game:
First star of the game: Morgan Smith. 2-for-3, two RBIs, one run scored.
Second star of the game: Kyleigh Sand. 1-for-3, two runs scored, walk, stolen base.
Third star of the game: L.A. Matthews. 1-for-2, walk, one RBI.
GAME FOUR....
The second game on Saturday was actually determined through the records of the teams in the tournament, with various tiebreakers employed to select exactly which teams would be paired off. Unfortunately, as it turned out, Rutgers drew FIU.
The Scarlet Knights’ early season fact pattern continued, this time with Morgan Smith knocking a first inning home run to put RU ahead, 1-0. In the bottom of the inning, Smith took to the circle as the starting pitcher, and through five innings, she held the Golden Panthers scoreless.
The Knights extended their lead in the top of the sixth when Smith doubled down the left field line, advancing to third base on an error by FIU shortstop Ashton Lansdell. Smith would then scamper home on a wild pitch, making the score 2-0 heading into the bottom of the inning.
Lansdell made amends for her error by driving home Navarro with an RBI single to cut the lead to 2-1. The Golden Panthers then evened the tilt 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh when McBurrows scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Navarro.
In the extra frame, despite having Maddie Lawson placed on second base to begin the inning, the Knights went quietly, setting up the bottom of the eighth inning.
Junior Janelle Martinez started the home half of the inning on second base, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. With a 0-1 count, Collier Peaden singled to right, driving home Martinez with the winning run, 3-2.
Jewlie Vanderkous took the complete-game victory for FIU, while Smith absorbed her second loss of the season.
The Knight Report’s three stars of the game:
First star of the game: Morgan Smith. With 7.1 innings pitched, she surrendered just two earned runs, two walks, and struck out four while slugging a home run and a double on her 2-for-3 day at the plate, with one RBI and two runs scored.
Second star of the game: Kayla Bock. 1-for-1 at the plate.
Third star of the game: Kyleigh Sand. 1-for-4 at the plate.
GAME FIVE...
Looking to salvage their final game of the tournament, Rutgers ended the weekend as they had begun, beating the Army Black Knights 9-0, behind another solid performance by Boyd in the circle.
The RU scoring again started early in the first inning with the team’s sparkplug, Sand, stealing third and coming home on a throwing error by Army catcher Emma Murchison. That was followed by a Wingert RBI single that pushed Matthews across the plate for a 2-0 Rutgers lead.
The Knights then piled on four more runs in the bottom of the second, the big blow an RBI double by Wingert that chased starting pitcher Lauren Levendoski from the circle after just 1.2 innings. Rutgers tacked on another run after a brief rain delay in the third when Leilani Chavez walked, then came home on a triple by Sand.
Up 7-0, RU head coach Kristen Butler replaced Boyd with junior lefty Laurelai DePew, who handed the Black Knights a scoreless fourth inning despite a walk and a wild pitch.
After Rutgers scored two more in the fourth, DePew once again shut down the Black Knights in the fifth, and the game ended, 9-0, with Boyd collecting her fourth win of the season.
The Knight Report’s three stars of the game:
First star of the game: Katie Wingert. 3-for-3, double, two RBIs, one run scored, stolen base, six putouts.
Second star of the game: Kyleigh Sand. 1-for-1, two walks, two stolen bases, triple, two runs scored, one RBI.
Third star of the game: L.A. Matthews. 1-for-3, one RBI, one run scored, one stolen base.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Now 6-4 on the season, the warm weather tour continues as the Scarlet Knights next travel to Cathedral City, Calif. to participate in the Mary Nutter Tournament.
Rutgers will first face off against Hawaii in a Thursday afternoon contest before taking on UC Riverside in the night game.
First pitch against Hawaii is scheduled for February 22 at 3:00 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. against UC Riverside. The tournament will also feature Loyola Marymount University, Cal Poly, California State University, Northridge and BYU.
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