A good weekend for Rutgers Softball

Everybody in the Northeast done with snow? And you wondered why baseball and softball head south in March!

A very successful trip to Virginia brought RU Softball back to .500 (9-9) as they went 4-1 at the Pirate Invitational at Hampton University.

An extra inning loss to North Dakota (11-9) was sandwiched by two wins before and after, including a sweep of the host Hampton Pirates (5-9). RU also defeated Maryland Eastern Shore.

Sophomore Cambria Keefer went 2-1 over the weekend (0.74 ERA) and is now 4-3 on the season. Her six strikeouts in the weekend finale set a career high.

The Knight also scored runs, averaging over seven per game. Senior Rebecca Hall hit .632 (12-for-19) and slugged 1.000 (three doubles, two triples) with 11 RBIs during the Pirate Invitational, hitting in all five games of the tournament. And sophomore right fielder Nicole Bowman hit a three-run home run as part of a 2-for-3 day with four total RBIs.

Box Scores

Rutgers 7 Maryland Eastern Shore 0

Rutgers 12 Hampton 8 - Game 1

North Dakota 2 Rutgers 1 (8 inn) - Game 1

Rutgers 9 Hampton 5 - Game 2

Rutgers 8 North Dakota 2 - Game 2

National Rankings

You don’t have to be a southern school to be good at softball...or baseball. Washington is No. 1 and another PAC 12 school, Oregon, is No. 6. Two Big Ten squads - Ohio State and Michigan - are in the top 25.

On the Banks graphic

Upcoming Schedule

Rutgers continues its tournament play to open the season, traveling to Boca Raton, Florida (again - nice recruiting tool!) to compete in the Florida Atlantic Tournament Friday through Sunday. It will be a good comparative test as the Knights will face three teams from the Northeast: Stony Brook (Friday), Pitt (Saturday, and close out on Sunday against LIU-Brooklyn. They also will face Florida A & M and UTEP.

Big Ten Softball Players of the Week

Player of the Week

Faith Canfield, Michigan || 2B – Jr.

• Recorded a .579 batting average and .895 slugging percentage with 11 hits, two home runs, six RBI and five runs scored while helping the No. 25/23 Wolverines to five wins in as many games at the Judi Garman Classic
• Tied her career high with four hits in a game twice last week, including a win over No. 8/9 Baylor, when she added a home run
• Drove in all three Michigan runs and hit another home run in the Wolverines’ victory over No. 18 Louisiana

Pitcher of the Week

Emily Oestreich, Illinois || RHP – Jr.

• Went 3-0 with a 0.57 ERA in 24.2 innings in the circle last week, posting two complete games and striking out 25 batters while allowing just two earned runs to help Illinois to five wins and the title at the Coach B Classic
• Registered a one-hit complete-game shutout over tournament host Southern Illinois, fanning five
• Also went the distance in a victory over Murray State, allowing just one earned run on three hits while striking out six

Freshman of the Week

Rachel Lewis, Northwestern || 2B – Jr.

• Batted .333 with a .750 slugging percentage last week, collecting a home run and six RBI as the Wildcats earned three wins at the Husky Classic in Seattle
• Belted a decisive three-run home run in Northwestern’s victory over 11^th-ranked Alabama
• Added a two-run double in the Wildcats’ win over Portland State earlier in the tournament