After starting the season on an epic road trip, it seemed only fitting that the Scarlet Knights should end their 2023 regular season campaign at home. The year has been a rollercoaster, and the conference schedule has been a proving ground for the team. But, the Scarlet Knights have qualified for the Big Ten Tournament, which is a noteworthy step forward for the program. So, perhaps it was only fitting that after testing their mettle through the long season, they face the class of the Big Ten Conference, the Northwestern Wildcats.
The series opened on Friday afternoon with pitcher Raimy Gamsby going to the circle for the Scarlet Knights. But there were problems right out of the gate. Gamsby pitched out of some trouble in the top of the first, but not before Northwestern scored when the freshman hurler walked home a run to give the Wildcats the early 1-0 lead.
That was followed by a two-run homer in the second inning off the bat of freshman Kansas Robinson, and an RBI double by outfielder Kelsey Nader in the third. By the time Gamsby was lifted, the Knights trailed 4-0. Freshman Ryann Orange replaced Gamsby, but she could fare no better, as catcher Jordyn Rudd belted a home run to put Northwestern up 5-0 as the game headed into the bottom of the fourth inning. Meanwhile, Northwestern starter Danielle Williams was rolling along against the Knights, until the bottom of the fourth. After Morgan Smith was hit by a pitch, second baseman Maddie Lawson blasted her first home run of the season, cutting the deficit to 5-2, which breathed life into the hometown crowd.
But that would be as close as the Scarlet Knights would come in the game. From that point forward, Williams and the Wildcats clamped down on the Knights, and exploded for six more on their way to a run-shortened, 11-2 final score. Williams was dominant in the game for Northwestern, surrendering just one hit (the Lawson home run) in her five innings of work, while striking out eight Scarlet Knights. For Williams, it was her sixteenth win of the year, against just one loss. Relief pitcher Lauren Boyd surrendered two of the three hits that Rutgers could manage in the game, but the offense was too little, too late in the sixth inning for the Knights.
Gamsby took the loss for RU, as she saw her record drop to 8-9 on the season.
Game two on Saturday was an important bounce-back game for Rutgers, and head coach Kristen Butler looked to change the team’s direction by sending senior hurler Jaden Vickers into the circle, with Boyd returning as the Saturday starter for Northwestern.
Vickers looked sharp in the first, shutting Northwestern down with a scoreless frame. But, in the bottom of the inning with one out and runners on first and third, the Knights were able to get a quick run off Boyd when Lawson drove a single to left for a 1-0 lead.
A solo homer in the third by sophomore Lauren Sciborski tied the game, 1-1, but it quickly changed in the bottom of the inning thanks to an RBI double by Smith and an RBI single by catcher Katie Wingert. When Payton Lincavage delivered an RBI single in the fourth, RU had knocked Boyd out of the circle. By the time Lauren Punk crushed a three-run homer in the fifth off reliever Sydney Supple, the Knights were cruising with a six-run lead, 7-1. For Punk, the home run was extra special as it came in her first-ever start in a Big Ten game.
While runners left on base have plagued them in recent games, the Scarlet Knights were efficient at the plate in game two. Chalking up just two hits more than Northwestern, hitting with runners on base proved to be the difference in the contest. Northwestern collected nine hits and three walks but left 12 runners on base. Rutgers, meanwhile, collected 11 hits and one walk, yet stranded only six Knights on the bags as five different players drove home runs.
While the Knights were collecting timely hits that provided strong run support, Vickers was keeping the Wildcats off balance, and despite Northwestern bringing the tying run to the plate with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, Rutgers prevailed, 7-3. Boyd took the loss for the visiting Wildcats, dropping her record to 7-4 on the season. For Vickers, the complete game victory was her eleventh of the season as she struck out four in the game. For the Knights, it was their first ever victory over Northwestern and their first win over a top-25 team in over a decade.
Sunday was Senior Day at the Rutgers Softball Complex, and both teams returned their starters from Friday’s game to the circle. Gamsby opened with a relatively easy first inning, while Williams, a fifth-year senior pitching in the final regular season game, and appearance number 165 in her prolific career, pitched out of a first inning scoring threat after a double by Smith.
But that would soon change.
Just as in the series’ opener, the Wildcats jumped out in front when Angela Zedak homered over the centerfield fence to go ahead, 1-0.
Smith replaced Gamsby in the circle in the third inning, but she soon ran into trouble when the Wildcats loaded the bases. However, she was able to pitch out of the situation to keep Rutgers behind by just one run. Northwestern added an insurance run in the fourth inning when shortstop Maeve Nelson blasted a solo home run to extend the lead, 2-0.
Looking to keep the game close, Georgia Ingle started the fifth inning in the circle for the Knights, and she gave Rutgers three perfect innings of relief pitching.
But in the end, it was Williams recording her one-hundredth career victory, her seventeenth of the season, with a complete game shutout, 2-0. With the win, the Wildcats recorded Big Ten victory number 20 on the season and will enter as the top seed in the tournament. Gamsby took the loss for the Scarlet Knights, as she saw her record drop to 8-10 on the season.
With an overall record of 32-24 and a conference mark of 9-14, the Scarlet Knights have qualified for the Big Ten Tournament which starts on May 10 at Eichelberger Field and is hosted by the University of Illinois. The 12-team tournament is set up in a single-elimination format. Every one of the tournament games will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
