CAMDEN, N.J. (April 26, 2026) – The Rutgers University-Camden softball team opened its final doubleheader of the season here Sunday with a heartfelt tribute to Kean University Head Coach Margie Acker in her battle against breast cancer and closed out its day by honoring departing second baseman Gianna Bauer, an academic senior who has junior softball eligibility.
 
Between the two ceremonies that bookended the doubleheader, the Cougars secured the third seed in the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs with a 6-1 and 5-0 sweep.
 
The Scarlet Raptors closed their season with a 10-22 record overall and a 3-15 mark in the NJAC. Kean improved to 23-15 overall and 12-6 in the conference.  
In the opening game, Kean senior pitcher Nikki Lusnia took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before the Scarlet Raptors bunched three hits to spoil the no-hitter and the shutout. The first hit was a single to shortstop by Raptor junior third baseman Alana Gannon, who earlier in the game had been robbed of a two-run home run on a sensational catch by Cougar left fielder Samantha Raymond.
 
Gannon advanced on a passed ball and scored on a single by freshman first baseman Kaede Walsh before junior left fielder Victoria Connelly singled for the final hit off Lusnia. The Kean righty raised her record to 14-7 in her three-hitter, walking two and striking out nine.
 
Kean scored an unearned run in the first inning off Raptor junior southpaw Sammie Friel and added a pair of runs in the fourth inning, one of them unearned,  on three hits and an error. Lusnia helped her own cause by singling home the eventual winning run.

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Kean added a run in the fifth and two unearned runs in the sixth against Friel (7-10), who allowed nine hits and only two earned runs. She walked one and struck out three.
 
Senior right fielder Brianna Sciulli went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases for Kean.  
While Raymond made the defensive play of the game in the opener, she hurled a three-hit shutout in the nightcap, raising her record to 9-6. She walked two and struck out two, pitching no-hit ball for 3.2 innings before Gannon singled. The only other hits she allowed were a leadoff single in the sixth by junior shortstop Ava Iepson and a leadoff single in the seventh by freshman right fielder Lilia Ortiz.
 
Raptor junior Anna Milillo matched scoreless innings with Raymond until the third inning. Freshman designated player Ashley Weber hit a one-out single, Sciulli followed with a single and sophomore second baseman Kiley Allen drilled a three-run home run to center field.
 
The Cougars added a pair of runs in the fifth on three hits, including an RBI double by sophomore shortstop Gina Mahlik and a run-scoring single by freshman third baseman Rielynn Carey.
 
Milillo (1-9) worked four-plus innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs and two walks.
 
Sciulli and Mahlik had two hits apiece for the Cougars.