Rutgers-Camden Athletics

A senior academically who has junior eligibility in softball, Taylor Nichols returns to the Scarlet Raptors for her third and final season before graduation. The speedy second baseman has been one of the top tablesetters in the Rutgers-Camden lineup over the past two seasons, batting leadoff (five times) or second in the lineup (26 times) in the bulk of her games last season, while starting all 40 contests for the Scarlet Raptors.
 
Nichols’ all-around talent earned her All-New Jersey Athletic Conference Second Team recognition in 2016.
 
A transfer from Stockton University who played one year of collegiate soccer, but not softball, with the Ospreys, Nichols has compiled 83 hits at a .355 batting average over her two Raptor seasons. With 17 more hits, she will become the 15th member of Rutgers-Camden’s 100-hit club.
 
Nichols also ranks fourth on the all-time Rutgers-Camden list for stolen bases (37) and is eighth in sacrifices (14).
 
In addition to earning all-conference honors last spring, Nichols was named to the spring semester Rutgers-Camden Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.
 
Softball 2016:  Started all 40 games for the Scarlet Raptors at second base, one of only two Scarlet Raptors to start every Rutgers-Camden game of the season at one position (joining centerfielder Lindsay Day)…NJAC Second Team honoree…Hit .369 (45-for-122), led the team with 15 stolen bases and eight sacrifices, and tied for the team lead with 27 runs scored…Also led the team with 77 assists (tied for the 13th-highest single-season total in program history) and finished fourth on the Raptors with 97 putouts…Compiled a .393 slugging percentage, aided by her three doubles, and had a .421 on-base percentage…Drew eight walks and reached base three times as a hit batsman…Collected 10 RBIs…Hit .364 (43-for-118) against right-handed pitching and .500 (2-for-4) against southpaws…Had the team’s best batting average (.444, 24-for-54) with runners on base…Compiled a .609 percentage in advancing runners (42-for-69), the second-best mark on the team overall and the best among regulars…Her 15 multiple-hit games led the team and included a trio of three-hit contests and 12 two-hit games…Reached base in 14 straight games (March 14-April 2), the third-longest streak on the team…Had a seven-game hitting streak from March 16-24 (15-for-27, .556), the third-longest hitting streak on the Raptors…Opened the season with a 3-for-4 game against Shenandoah University (March 5), while scoring two runs and adding one stolen base…Also had three-hit games against Spalding (March 16, 3-for-5, three runs, two RBIs and one double) and Bay Path (March 17, 3-for-3, four runs, one RBI, one walk and one stolen base)…Ripped two doubles, going 2-for-4 with one run and three RBIs in the nightcap of a March 24 doubleheader at Penn State-Abington…Had five or more putouts on six occasions, with a high of seven against both Stockton University (April 6, Game One) and The College of New Jersey (April 12, Game One)…Her high of five assists came against Virginia Wesleyan (March 6) and she compiled four assists in four other games.
 
Softball 2015: One of five players to start all 35 Rutgers-Camden games…Finished third on the team with a .339 batting average, while leading the club with 30 runs scored, 56 assists, six sacrifices and 22 stolen bases (in 25 attempts)…Finished second on the team in hits (38) and double plays (5)…Compiled a .366 slugging percentage and a .393 on-base percentage…Hit by a pitch four times, tying for the club lead…Added 11 RBIs, one double and one triple…Notched 78 putouts, the fourth-best total on the team…Her 22 stolen bases are the third-highest single-season mark in program history…Named the school’s Raptor of the Week and the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week on April 6…Fashioned the longest hitting streak on the team, an 11-game string (19-for-36, .528) from March 17-April 4…That hitting streak tied for the 10th-longest streak in program history…Had eight multiple-hit games, tied for third most on the team…Tied for the team lead with five three-hit games…Ranked second in the NJAC in stolen bases and tied for 10th in runs scored…Went 2-for-3 in her Raptor debut, the season opener against Lynchburg College (March 13)…Went 3-for-4 with one run, one RBI and a stolen base against Eureka College (March 16)…Had a 3-for-5 game with three runs, two RBIs and two walks against York (NY) College (March 20)…Went a combined 6-for-7 in back-to-back games against Rutgers-Newark (March 29, Game Two) and Stockton (April 1, Game One), getting three hits in each game and adding three steals against Newark…Also scored three runs against Stockton…Against Montclair State (April 11, Game Two), went 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI…Stole three bases in as many chances against New Jersey City University (April 25, Game Two).
 
Pre-Rutgers: Played one season of soccer at Stockton University in 2013…Appeared in 19 games as a forward…Took 11 shots and produced one goal and three assists for five points.