CLERMONT, Florida (March 9, 2024) – The Rutgers University-Camden softball team opened its season here Saturday at the PXF Spring Games and the Scarlet Raptors were forced to rally and work extra innings in both games before splitting eight-inning contests with Carroll University and the Wentworth Institute of Technology.
 
The Raptors beat Carroll, 9-7, in their season opener before falling to Wentworth, 9-8.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action on Sunday with a pair of games in Kissimmee, Florida. They face Washington College (Chestertown, Maryland) at 1:30 p.m. and Plymouth State University (Plymouth, New Hampshire) at 6 p.m.
   
After trailing, 5-0, through two innings, Rutgers-Camden rallied into a 7-5 lead through the top of the seventh inning, watched Carroll tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, and pushed across two runs in the eighth inning for the win.
 
Freshman pitcher Anna Milillo collected the victory in her first collegiate game, working 6.1 innings in relief of junior starter Lindsey Rodzon. Milillo allowed nine hits, two earned runs and one walk, while striking out two.
 
Rutgers-Camden started its comeback from a 5-0 hole with two runs in the third on RBI singles by senior shortstop Meg Gray and junior third baseman Luci Hutchinson. The Raptors added two more runs in the fourth inning on an RBI single by junior left fielder Emily Dubiago and a bases-loaded RBI walk by Hutchinson. Gray singled home an unearned run in the sixth inning to tie the game, setting the stage for a wild seventh inning.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored a pair of runs in the top of the frame on three hits, including a two-run single by Dubiago. Carroll (Waukesha, Wis.) came right back with three hits and two runs of its own in the bottom of the frame, sending the game to extra innings.
 
In the top of the eighth, Rutgers-Camden scored twice on an RBI triple by sophomore right fielder Ava Maloof, who later scored on a wild pitch.
 
Dubiago went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs in the game, while junior catcher Kendall Lafferty went 3-for-4 with one run scored. Gray, Maloof, senior designated player Kamryn Kennedy and sophomore second baseman Gianna Bauer all collected two hits in the Raptors' 16-hit attack.
   
The Leopards took an 8-0 lead, watched Rutgers-Camden roar back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and then scored an unearned run in the top of the eighth inning to pull out the win.
 
Wentworth (Boston, Mass.) built a 6-0 lead through three innings and padded the margin to 8-0 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Junior first baseman Katie Krantz had an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run single in the third inning, while graduate student center fielder Kaitlin Pettenger added a two-run single in the third inning and drove home another run in the fifth inning.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to start its comeback. Shortstop Bauer opened the frame with a single to right field. Senior center fielder Alexa McNee followed with a single up the middle. One out later, freshman second baseman Mia Owens, who had her first collegiate hit with an infield single in the second inning, collected her first RBI with a single through the right side, then added her first stolen base. Kennedy plated both McNee and Owens with a double to left center.
 
The Raptors tied the game with five runs in the bottom of the seventh, sparked by a leadoff pinch-hit walk from freshman Alana Gannon. Kennedy singled and freshman right fielder Kali Baker followed with her first collegiate hit and RBI, a single through the left side. A single by Hutchinson and an RBI single by Lafferty made it an 8-5 game. Bauer followed with a two-run single and McNee singled home the tying run.
 
The Leopards pushed across the winning run in the top of the eighth after opening the frame with a runner at second base due to the international tiebreaker rule. A sacrifice and an error brought home the run and the Scarlet Raptors left the tying run at third base in the bottom of the frame.
 
Both Pettenger and Kranz went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for Wentworth (4-6), while Pettenger added two runs scored.
 
Kennedy went 4-for-5 with two RBIs for the Raptors, while McNee was 4-for-5 with one run and one RBI. Bauer went 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs and Owens was 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI.
 
Sophomore Julie Schriver picked up the win with 1.1 perfect innings of relief work. Freshman hurler Sammie Friel made her collegiate debut for the Scarlet Raptors, working 2-1/3 innings and allowing 10 hits, six earned runs and three walks. Rodzon was the tough-luck losing pitcher, working 5.2 innings, allowing five hits and three runs (only one earned), while walking one and striking out three.