CAMDEN, N.J. (Feb. 13, 2020) – As Rutgers University-Camden Head Coach Meredith McCarthy begins her third season with the softball program, she is determined to lead the Scarlet Raptors back to the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs.
 
Rutgers-Camden hasn't been to the NJAC tournament since 2016 and the Raptors are out to change that trend in 2020. The Scarlet Raptors' nine returning players include a pair of All-NJAC performers and their top pitcher.
 
The Scarlet Raptors were picked for seventh in the NJAC in the pre-season coaches' poll, released today. The College of New Jersey received eight first-place votes and was tabbed as the conference favorite by the 10 NJAC coaches. Rowan University, picked for second, received the other two first-place votes.
 
The top six teams in the conference qualify for the NJAC playoffs. Rounding out that group, according to the coaches, will be Kean University, Ramapo College, Montclair State University and Stockton University. Montclair State was tabbed as the NJAC's dark horse team.
 
Following the Scarlet Raptors, the coaches' poll picked Rutgers University-Newark, William Paterson University and New Jersey City University to finish in the last three spots.
 
Rutgers-Camden is coming off a 10-22 season in which it went 5-13 in NJAC play. The team's 13-player roster includes nine letterwinners, including All-NJAC Second Team infielder Nina Arroyo and All-NJAC Honorable Mention infielder/outfielder Karlie Kennedy.
 
Arroyo, a two-year letterwinner who started all of her 28 games at shortstop last season, is coming off a sophomore campaign in which she led the team in hitting (.341), hits (30) and RBIs (13). She owns a .323 career batting average in her two years, while playing both shortstop and second base.
 
Kennedy was one of the top rookies in the NJAC last season, playing in 30 games. She started 23 in right field and four at second base, while hitting .286 with a team-leading two triples.
 
For the second straight season, junior Sarah Byrnes will be the Scarlet Raptors' mound ace. A transfer last season from NJAC rival William Paterson University, Byrnes led Rutgers-Camden in innings (139-1/3), games started (22), complete games (17) and strikeouts (102), while posting a deceptive 7-14 record. She posted a stellar 2.11 ERA, yet was victimized by 35 unearned runs. Byrnes also hit .316 at the plate.
 
Senior Rachel Edwards returns for her fourth year with the team after starting all 32 games at third base last season. Edwards, who has played every infield position during her three seasons with the Raptors, will become the 25th player in program history to reach 100 games played, needing only five more. She ranks seventh in career assists (191) and fourth in double plays (12), while compiling a .261 career batting average.
 
The Raptors' only other senior is first baseman Marissa Beebe, who hit .291 during her first season at Rutgers-Camden in 2019. She played two seasons at Ursinus College before joining the Raptors and leading the club in doubles (4), home runs (1), total bases (34), slugging percentage (.395), on-base percentage (.402), putouts (180) and double plays (4) last year.
 
Junior catcher Alexis Davis caught 31 of the team's 32 games last year while topping all regulars with a .994 fielding percentage and tying for the team lead in sacrifices (8). Also returning will be a trio of sophomores in outfielders Kimmy Musarra and Becca Donahue, along with versatile utility player Alexis Schauer. Musarra started all 32 games last season, including 30 in left field, while leading the team in runs (20) and walks (16). Schauer played in 17 games, including three starts at second base, and Donahue appeared in five games.
 
The Scarlet Raptors' roster includes four talented freshmen, including pitcher/infielder Rachel White (Woodbury High School), infielder Cate Petrucelli (Rancocas Valley Regional), outfielder Amelia Sims (Cherry Hill West) and infielder/outfielder Jayden Hunter (Lenape).
 
McCarthy returns a trio of assistant coaches in Shilah Minerva, Meagan Raines and Jessica Phillips. She also adds four-year Scarlet Raptor letterwinner Dannie Dinsfriend to the coaching staff.
 
Rutgers-Camden opens its season March 6 with a home doubleheader against SUNY-New Paltz.