The 2025 softball season is winding down for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. This weekend was the last opportunity for the home crowd to see Big Ten competition, as the Illinois Fighting Illini came to Piscataway for a three-game series that began on Friday.
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Game One, Friday, April 25. After a scoreless first inning, the Illini scored three to take an early lead in the contest. However, the Scarlet Knights put up one of their own as L.A. Matthews powered a home run down the right field line to make the score 3-1.
After that, it was all Illinois, as the Illini would score on a solo homer by Eileen Donahue in the third, followed by runs in the sixth and seventh on their way to an easy 6-1 victory.
Game Two, Saturday, April 26. Call this game the Bailey (or Baileigh) show, as both Bailey Briggs and Baileigh Burtis had big days to assist the Scarlet Knights in the second game of the weekend.
After Illinois took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, Burtis got her first career home run over the wall to tie the contest at two apiece.
Rutgers then surged ahead in the third inning, as Briggs provided a two-run homer to give the Scarlet Knights the lead, 4-2.
After the Knights added another in the fourth to give them a three-run lead, Illinois put together a rally in the top of the fifth on the strength of an RBI single by Adisyn Caryl and a sacrifice fly by Ella Cushing.
But the Scarlet Knights fashioned a rally of their own in the bottom of the frame scoring three to put them up, 8-4. The game appeared to be well in hand when, in the sixth inning, pitcher Ella Harrison struck out pinch hitter Ellie Haggard for her two hundredth strikeout of the season.
However, the Illini did not quit, and a three-run homer by Cushing in the seventh inning drew Illinois close at 8-7, but this game was taken by Rutgers as Harrison recorded her twelfth victory of the year, while Karley Yergler took the loss for Illinois.
Game Three, Sunday, April 27. Following the game, the Scarlet Knights honored four veteran players on Senior Day, but not before they first set about looking to take the rubber match of the series.
A pitchers’ duel is what the home crowd got, as Megan Nuechterlein locked up with senior Laurelai DePew for Rutgers.
The game was scoreless for five innings, but after a leadoff double by Yazzy Avila in the top of the sixth, DePew was lifted in favor of relief pitcher Kelsey Hoekstra. But, after Avila moved to third on a bunt, Keirys Click lifted a sacrifice fly to center field that scored the first run of the game.
Then, a dramatic game-saving catch by Illinois centerfielder Alaina Miller robbed Matthews of what would have been a two-run homer, to keep RU off the board in the bottom of the sixth. But, the Knights would get a chance to remove the goose egg from the scoreboard when they got the bases loaded with two outs as Stephanie Kraska stepped into the batter’s box.
It was at that moment that she decided to deliver her first career home run, a grand slam, to give the Knights a three-run lead.
From there, the Illini would get one baserunner in the top of the seventh, but Hoekstra would then set down the next three batters as the Scarlet Knights took their first conference series win by a final score of 4-1.
The Scarlet Knights will make their last home appearance of the season on Tuesday, April 29 as they play host to Monmouth University. The game is slated for a 3:00 p.m. start, and will be carried by the Big Ten Plus network.
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