CLERMONT, Fla. (March 17, 2019) – Nine days and six cancelled games after the season was supposed to start, the Rutgers University-Camden softball team finally had a chance to play a game that counted on its schedule here Sunday.
The Scarlet Raptors dropped their first official game, 9-3, against Tufts University (Medford, Mass.) before taking a late second game against Farmingdale State University (Farmingdale, N.Y.), 3-2, at the PFX Spring Games.
Rutgers-Camden (1-1) had seen its season-opening four-game trip to the Virginia Wesleyan Beach Blast (March 8-9) cancelled by inclement weather and field conditions. The Scarlet Raptors ran into bad weather again Saturday on their scheduled opening day at the Spring Games, playing a few innings before their contest against New Paltz was washed out by rain. A second scheduled game later that day against Wisconsin-Superior also was cancelled.
Rutgers-Camden will play two more games Monday at the PFX Spring Games. They face Geneva College at 9:30 a.m. and the University of Southern Maine at 2 p.m.
Tufts 9, Rutgers-Camden 3
The Scarlet Raptors received a fine pitching performance from sophomore
Sarah Byrnes, but four Rutgers-Camden errors allowed the Jumbos to score eight unearned runs, including six in a seven-run second inning. Byrnes hurled a complete game, allowing seven hits and three walks, while striking out five. She allowed only one earned run, on a solo home run by Tufts first baseman Casey Maggiore to open the second inning.
Rutgers-Camden took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second following a leadoff single by junior first baseman
Marissa Beebe. Senior designated player
Kendra Pfister advanced Beebe with a sacrifice bunt and junior third baseman
Rachel Edwards plated the Raptors' first run of the season with a single to center. Edwards advanced to second on the throw home and scored one out later on an error.
Maggiore's home run sliced the gap to 2-1 in the bottom of the frame before a hit batsman, a walk, three more hits and two errors combined to bring home six unearned runs. The Jumbos (4-0) added two unearned runs in the fifth on a walk, two errors and a single.
Edwards went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI to lead the Raptors' seven-hit attack. Beebe was 2-for-4 with one run scored.
Rutgers-Camden 3, Farmingdale State 2
The Scarlet Raptors earned their first win of the season in the nightcap as Pfister hurled a seven-hitter, walking four and striking out four. Pfister,
pictured above, allowed two earned runs.
The Raptors scored two runs in the bottom of the first, sparked by a leadoff single from freshman left fielder
Kimmy Musarra. Freshman second baseman
Jordan Howey had a sacrifice bunt and reached on a fielder's choice. On out later, Pfister walked to load the bases. With two outs, back-to-back walks to Edwards and junior designated player
Arcilia Hernandez forced in a pair of runs.
The Rams (0-4) tied the game with two runs on two hits in the top of the second inning and the teams remained deadlocked until the Scarlet Raptors scored the winning run in the fifth inning. Howey opened the frame with a single and was sacrificed to second by sophomore shortstop
Nina Arroyo. She went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly – to shortstop – by Pfister.
Rutgers-Camden's five-hit attack was paced by Musarra, who went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Howey was 1-for-2 and scored twice.
