Box Score

SALISBURY, Maryland – The Rutgers University-Camden softball team scored two runs in the first inning and went on to defeat Capital University, 3-1, here Friday at the Salisbury University Tournament to post its first win of the season and the first collegiate victory for new Head Coach Michelle Schlichtig.

 
The Scarlet Raptors, who dropped their season opener, 7-0, to Lynchburg College earlier in the day, evened their record at 1-1.
 
The Crusaders, out of Columbus, Ohio, fall to 7-2.
 
The victory made Schlichtig the first person in program history to earn victories as a player and as the head coach. A two-time All-American who pitched the Scarlet Raptors to the 2006 Division III national championship, she is in her first season as the Rutgers-Camden head coach after a highly-successful scholastic coaching career.
 

The Scarlet Raptors scored all the runs they needed with a two-run first inning. Freshman second baseman Taylor Nichols (Barrington, NJ/Haddon Heights), who collected three hits in the Opening Day doubleheader, led off with an infield single and advanced on a single up the middle by senior shortstop Krystine Rice (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee). Junior pitcher Brittany Scott (Buena, NJ/Buena Regional) helped her own cause with a RBI single to right field and advanced to second on the throw home. Following a walk to junior center fielder Lindsay Day (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest), junior third baseman Katie Larson (Delran, NJ/Delran) plated the second run when she grounded into a double play.
 
Capital cut the gap to 2-1 with a run in the top of the fifth inning. A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases before sophomore pinch-hitter Natalie Mabry (Grove City, OH/Grove City) hit a run-scoring single to left field.
 
Rutgers-Camden got that run back in the bottom of the sixth, sparked by a leadoff infield single by Scott. She advanced to third on a one-out double down the left field line by Larson. Freshman catcher/designated player Mackenzie Mason (Carneys Point, NJ/Penns Grove), in only her second collegiate plate appearance, delivered a sacrifice fly to left field, plating Scott.

 
Rice and Scott both went 2-for-3 in the game to lead a seven-hit Raptor attack. Nichols, Larson and sophomore right fielder Jalene Garcia (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) added one hit apiece.
 
Scott hurled a five-hitter, allowing one earned run and three walks, while striking out five. Scott also had a game-high four assists, while freshman first baseman Lauren Simmons (Haddon Heights, NJ/Haddon Heights) had a game-high 11 putouts.
 
Senior center fielder Kelsey Swain (Pickerington, OH/Pickerington North) had two of the five hits for Capital. Senior pitcher Brooke Billings (Clyde, OH/Clyde) took the loss in a seven-hitter, allowing three earned runs and one walk. She struck out two.
 
The Scarlet Raptors continue their season at the Salisbury University Tournament on Saturday, weather permitting. They play Lynchburg again at 10 a.m. and face host Salisbury University, the second-ranked team in the country, at 2 p.m.