3/31/2024 other sports Edit

Softball Drops Two of Three to Purdue

Mark Bator • TheKnightReport

Staff Writer

Besides the Knight Report, Mark is a writer with Micromedia Publications/Jersey Shore Online. He currently does freelance work and was formerly with BleacherReport.com and Hat Trick magazine.

Now firmly in the Big Ten Conference schedule, the Scarlet Knights’ recent visit to Indiana is one they would probably like to forget. In addition to letting two potential wins slip through their fingers, they watched as their ace pitcher went down with an injury that necessitated her removal from the game. The first game of the series took place on Friday, March 29, with a double-header on Saturday, March 30 in West Lafayette at Bittinger Stadium.

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GAME ONE: Bookend scoring and a strong pitching performance in the circle highlighted the opening game of the series against the Boilermakers.

As has been commonplace this season, the Knights opened the scoring first, when Kayla Bock worked out a bases-loaded walk that forced home Kyleigh Sand to go up 1-0 in the first inning.

From there, it was the Morgan Smith show, as she set down the Boilermakers inning after inning, striking out five and allowing just one run in a complete game victory. In addition, Smith also slid across home plate to score the winning run in the seventh inning after Payton Lincavage’s perfectly executed squeeze bunt.

The Knight Report’s three stars of the game:

First star of the game: Morgan Smith. Complete game victory, one earned run allowed, five strikeouts, 1-for-3, walk, stolen base, one run scored.

Second star of the game: Kyleigh Sand. 2-for-3, double, two walks, one RBI, one run scored.

Third star of the game: Kayla Bock. 1-for-2, walk, one RBI, one run scored.

GAME TWO: Once again, the Scarlet Knights jumped out into the early lead and appeared to be cruising, as Smith homered, driving home L.A. Matthews for a 2-0 lead in the first.

Mattie Boyd was dominating, holding the Boilermakers hitless until the unthinkable occurred. As Boyd returned to the circle to take her warm-up throws for the top of the fifth, she went down awkwardly on her first pitch. Teammates and training staff rushed over to her as she seemed in obvious pain. Boyd appeared to sustain a left ankle injury that forced her removal from the game.

That forced head coach Kristen Butler to insert Smith into the circle in an effort to hold the Boilermakers at bay.

Up 5-0 in the fifth, all appeared to be clicking for the Knights when a sudden rash of errors allowed Purdue to score five runs and tie up the game while only getting one hit in the inning.

Reeling from the turnaround, the Rutgers bats went cold, unable to score a run for the remainder of the game. In extra innings, Purdue’s Kyndall Bailey started off the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff double. She then advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, subsequently scoring on yet another Scarlet Knight error, their third of the game.

Smith took the loss, her sixth of the season, as Purdue took the game that the Scarlet Knights let slip away, 6-5.

The Knight Report’s three stars of the game:

First star of the game: L.A. Matthews, 2-for-4, double, one RBI, one run scored.

Second star of the game: Morgan Smith. 1-for-3, home run, walk, two RBIs, one run scored.

Third star of the game: Jillian Anderson. 1-for-3, one run scored.

GAME THREE: Things appeared to start well for the Scarlet Knights when, up 1-0 in the third inning, Smith crushed a two-run homer over the left centerfield wall, putting RU ahead, 3-0.

But once again, things turned ugly for the Scarlet Knights.

The Boilermakers slowly chipped away at the RU lead, aided by two hit batsmen as they tallied five runs in the third inning, chasing Smith from the circle.

While Georgia Ingle performed admirably in the circle for the Knights, surrendering just two hits in her 3.2 innings of work, Rutgers was not able to take advantage of her efforts.

Purdue junior Madi Elish thwarted the Scarlet Knights, holding RU to just four hits on her way to a complete game victory, 5-3, as the Boilermakers took both halves of the double-header.

The Knight Report’s three stars of the game:

First star of the game: Morgan Smith. 1-for-2, home run, walk, two RBIs, one run scored.

Second star of the game: Jillian Anderson. 2-for-3, stolen base, one run scored.

Third star of the game: L.A. Matthews. 1-for-2, walk, one run scored.

The Scarlet Knights return home for a single game with Hofstra on Wednesday, April 3 at 1:00 p.m. They then welcome Wisconsin on Friday, April 5 for the first of a three-game series over the weekend.