Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

CAMDEN, N.J. (April 21, 2018) – The Montclair State University softball team broke open a pair of close games with big late-inning rallies and went on to sweep Rutgers University-Camden, 8-2 and 9-2, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader here Saturday.
 
The Scarlet Raptors dip to 9-16 overall and 2-10 in the NJAC as their losing streak stretched to 10 games. The Red Hawks improved to 21-9 overall and 7-5 in the conference, extending their winning streak to five.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Tuesday with a 3 p.m. home NJAC doubleheader against William Paterson University. The twinbill will serve as Senior Day, with the Raptors honoring four-year letterwinner Mackenzie Mason (Penns Grove, NJ/Penns Grove) and two-year Rutgers-Camden letterwinners Gabrielle Castellini (Millville, NJ/Wildwood Catholic), Mariah Hans (Barrington, NJ/Haddon Heights) and Gabby Pfeiffer (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley).
   
Locked in a 2-2 tie into the fifth inning, the Red Hawks scored a single run in the fifth, two more in the sixth and added a three-run seventh to put the game away. In the decisive fifth inning, a fielder's choice by freshman shortstop Amber Powers plated her sister, sophomore second baseman Kaylee Powers, who had reached on a walk.
 
Kaylee Powers hit her first of two home runs on the day in the sixth inning, slugging a two-run shot as part of a three-home run barrage by the Red Hawks in the opening game. In the seventh, senior catcher Alana Luna slugged a three-run home run.
 
Both teams scored single runs in the first and third innings. Amber Powers singled home the first-inning run for Montclair State, but Rutgers-Camden tied the game in the bottom of the frame. Freshman shortstop Nina Arroyo (Delran, NJ/Delran) hit a one-out single, advanced on a ground out and scored on a single to right by center fielder Castellini.
 
In the third, sophomore designated player/pitcher Victoria Cucci slugged a home run for the Red Hawks. The Scarlet Raptors countered with a run as Castellini hit a two-out single, third baseman Pfeiffer was hit by a pitch and junior pitcher Kendra Pfister (Dacula, GA/Dacula) singled home the tying run.
 
Pfister (4-10) worked 6-1/3 innings in the loss, allowing nine hits, eight earned runs and six walks. She struck out two. Cucci (5-2) picked up the win in relief, allowing three hits over four innings of shutout ball.
 
Montclair State collected 10 hits, including a 3-for-4 game by junior first baseman Samantha DiClementi. Luna and both Powers sisters went 2-for-4.
 
Rutgers-Camden's eight-hit attack was led by Castellini, who went 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI, and Arroyo, who went 2-for-4 and scored one run.
   
In the nightcap, sophomore Nicole Majewski raised her record to 9-1 for the Red Hawks, scattering eight hits over six innings. She allowed two earned runs, struck out three and didn't walk any batters.
 
Montclair State broke a scoreless duel between Majewski and Raptor freshman Kennedy Whalen (Williamstown, NJ/Gateway Regional) with a run in the third inning, sparked by a leadoff bunt single by junior center fielder Victoria Gehring. She advanced on a sacrifice and scored on a single by Cucci. The Red Hawks added two more runs in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Gehring and a RBI single by sophomore third baseman Elena Radesich.
 
A home run by Amber Powers made it a 4-0 game in the top of the fifth, but Rutgers-Camden broke through for a run in the bottom of the frame on a two-out double by sophomore second baseman Rachel Edwards (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) and a pinch-hit RBI single by junior Allie Jenkins (Delco, NJ/Riverside).
 
The Red Hawks broke the game open in a four-run sixth inning, which included a two-run double by Amber Powers, a RBI single by Luna and a sacrifice fly by DiClementi. Rutgers-Camden scored one in the bottom of the sixth on a double by Castellini and a RBI single by Pfister, but Kaylee Powers tacked on a seventh-inning run for the Red Hawks with a solo home run.
 
Amber Powers led the Red Hawks' 14-hit attack with a 3-for-4 game, scoring twice and driving home three runs.
 
Rutgers-Camden had nine hits. Pfister, Pfeiffer and Whalen each went 2-for-3. Whalen, pictured above, hurled a complete game, allowing 14 hits, four walks and nine earned runs. She struck out three as her record fell to 4-6.