CLERMONT, Fla. (March 18, 2019) – For the second day in a row, the Rutgers University-Camden softball team split a pair of games at the PFX Spring Games, and for the second straight day their loss was largely due to unearned runs.
 
Rutgers-Camden defeated Geneva College, 6-4, in its first game of the day Monday, but lost its second game, 13-1, in five innings against the University of Southern Maine. The Raptors allowed eight first-inning runs, with seven of them unearned.
 
After a day off on Tuesday, Rutgers-Camden will play two more games Wednesday at the Spring Games. They face Wesleyan University (Middletown, Conn.) at 9:30 a.m. and play Stevenson University (Owings Mills, Maryland) at 2 p.m.
   
The Scarlet Raptors battled back from a 3-0 deficit to post their second straight win at the Spring Games. After allowing three runs in the top of the first inning, sophomore Sarah Byrnes threw no-hit ball for the next four innings and shutout ball for the next five before allowing an unearned run in the seventh inning. She finished with a five-hitter, walking four and striking out five. She allowed four runs, three of them earned.
 
Rutgers-Camden quickly countered Geneva's rally with a two-run frame in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman left fielder Kimmy Musarra was hit by a pitch and freshman second baseman Jordan Howey singled to left. One out later, senior designated player Kendra Pfister ripped a two-run double to right center.
 
The Scarlet Raptors took the lead for good with a two-run third inning, sparked when Howey reached on an infield error to open the frame. She advanced on a sacrifice by sophomore shortstop Nina Arroyo. With two outs, junior first baseman Marissa Beebe walked and junior third baseman Rachel Edwards ripped a RBI single to left field. Beebe later scored when Edwards got caught stealing in a rundown, giving the Raptors enough time to plate their second unearned run of the inning.
 
Rutgers-Camden added its final two runs in the sixth, sparked by a one-out single by Edwards. Sophomore catcher Alexis Davis reached on an error and Freshman right fielder Karlie Kennedy followed with a RBI single to center, which plated another run when the ball eluded Geneva's center fielder.
 
Edwards led the Raptors' six-hit attack with a 2-for-3 performance, adding one run and one RBI.
   
The Huskies (4-3) plated eight runs in the opening frame to knock out Pfister, who allowed only one earned run out of the seven she allowed. Pfister left with a 4-0 deficit and the bases loaded before junior right fielder Erin Martin unloaded a grand slam to cap the frame. Martin, the Huskies' leadoff hitter, had a walk, a grand slam, two runs scored and four RBIs in the inning.
 
The Huskies plated three more runs in the third inning before Rutgers-Camden scored its lone run in the bottom of the fourth. Edwards reached on an error to open the inning and scored on a double to left center by sophomore catcher Alexis Davis, one of only three hits the Raptors managed in the game.