Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (March 15, 2018) – Senior third baseman Gabby Pfeiffer (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley) picked up a career milestone with her 100th overall hit and freshman pitcher Kennedy Whalen (Williamstown, NJ/Gateway Regional) notched her first career save as the Rutgers University-Camden split a pair of games at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic here Thursday.
 
Pfeiffer's milestone came during the Scarlet Raptors' 9-5 loss in their opening game of the day against Emory & Henry College (Emory, Virginia). Whalen put out a fire in a close game in the nightcap and finished up the contest as the Raptors went on to defeat Clarks Summit University (South Abington Township, Penn.), 12-5.
 
Rutgers-Camden, 6-3, closes its 11-game trip to the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic Friday when it plays Frostburg State University (Frostburg, Maryland) at 9:30 a.m. and Alfred State (Alfred, New York) at 11:30 a.m. The Scarlet Raptors open their home season on Saturday, March 24, with a 12 p.m. doubleheader against Hunter College.
   
Emory & Henry (15-2) matched one rally with another, countering Rutgers-Camden's five-run top of the fifth inning with five runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. The Wasps scored three more times in the sixth on their way to a 9-5 win, their eighth straight victory.
 
Trailing, 1-0, on a first-inning unearned run, the Scarlet Raptors plated five runs in the fifth on a walk, two errors and three hits. The biggest hit of the frame was a two-run double by senior first baseman Mariah Hans (Barrington, NJ/Mount Holly). Her hit came four batters after Pfeiffer accomplished her career milestone. Attempting to sacrifice the tying run into scoring position, Pfeiffer (pictured above) beat out the play for a bunt single instead. It was her second hit of the game and the 100th for her combined career, which included two seasons with Rowan College at Burlington County (71 hits) before coming to Rutgers-Camden as a junior.
 
Emory & Henry bounced right back with a five-hit, five-run frame to quickly regain the lead. The go-ahead hit was a bloop, two-run, two-out single by freshman designated player Mia Altizer that fell into the narrow empty gap between second base and right field at the edge of the infield.
 
The Wasps tacked on three big unearned runs in the sixth on an error, a walk and three hits, including a bases-clearing double by senior shortstop Leah Elswick.
 
Altizer and freshman left fielder Kendall Varner both had two hits for Emory & Henry. Hans, Pfeiffer and junior pitcher Kendra Pfister (Dacula, GA/Dacula) had two hits apiece for the Raptors.
   
In a game that was a lot closer than the final score, Rutgers-Camden opened up a 6-2 lead with a three-run rally in the top of the fifth inning. The big hit was a two-run double from junior pitcher Dannie Dinsfriend (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee), who earned her first decision of the season by working 4-2/3 innings, scattering nine hits and one walk, while striking out two. She allowed five runs, four of them earned.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, however, Clarks Summit (1-10) threatened to catch the Scarlet Raptors, plating three runs. The Lady Defenders scored two of them on a two-out single by sophomore third baseman Beth Muhlenkamp.
 
With two runners on base, Whalen entered the game and retired the final batter on a grounder to sophomore shortstop Rachel Edwards (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township). Whalen went on to pitch 2-1/3 hitless, scoreless innings, walking one and striking out two to notch her first collegiate save.
 
Rutgers-Camden blew the game open with six runs in the top of the seventh inning, aided by six hits and two errors. The biggest hits came back-to-back: an RBI triple by senior left fielder Gabrielle Castellini (Millville, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) and a two-run inside-the-park home run down the right field line by Hans.
 
Castellini went 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs in the game, while Hans was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs and Dinsfriend went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Freshman second baseman Nina Arroyo (Delran, NJ/Delran) added a 2-for-5 game with one run and two RBIs.
 
Arroyo, Castellini and Hans all have opened the season with nine-game hitting streaks.