Rutgers-Camden Athletics

Sarah O’Malley practically re-wrote the Rutgers-Camden record books during her three seasons with the Lady Raptors, while laying the winning foundation for a softball program that eventually won the national title three years after her final season. A true blue-chip high school recruit, O’Malley was named the South Jersey Softball Player of the Year by both the Courier-Post and Philadelphia Inquirer newspapers in 2000, when she set the former South Jersey career strikeout record with 787 at Camden Catholic High School.

That same spring, Rutgers-Camden recorded a modest 12-10 record for only its second winning season since 1985 and fourth in program history, tying the team record of 12 wins. During the next three seasons, with O’Malley pitching, the Raptors set school victory marks each year. They compiled an overall record of 73-38-1 during that span, including the program’s first two berths ever in the ECAC playoffs in 2002 and 2003.

A two-time team Most Valuable Player and captain, O’Malley was the NCAA Division III individual ERA leader in 2002, when she posted a 0.47 mark. She was a three-time All-New Jersey Athletic Conference First Team performer, including her freshman season when she also was named the NJAC Rookie of the Year. She captured a pair of ECAC Metro First Team honors (2002, 2003) and was named the school’s NJAIAW (New Jersey Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) Woman of the Year in 2003. Despite a foot injury that kept her from competing during her senior season, she left the school holding practically every major softball record, including most games (108) and most pitching appearances (73). At that time, she held Raptor career pitching standards for games started (57), innings (387-1/3), wins (40), ERA (0.99), strikeouts (488), saves (4), shutouts (17), no-hitters (four) and lowest opponent batting average (.169) and held virtually every single-season and single-game pitching mark, including 11 consecutive strikeouts. She also held career offensive marks for at bats (318), total bases (190), RBIs (82), hits (120) and runs (73) and defensive standards for putouts (352) and double plays (9) and had the old program mark of 22 putouts in one game while playing first base. She still holds the program single-game offensive standards for hits (five) and doubles (tied for the record with three), in addition to the pitching marks for strikeouts in a game (19 against Centenary March 29, 2001) and strikeouts in one inning (four). She also still holds the program records for doubles in a season (16 in 2001) and in a career (39).