Rutgers—Newark softball strives for improvement in 2024
The Rutgers—Newark softball team had a rough early spring. In their first game of the season, the Scarlet Raiders (5-25, 3-11) played New England College and lost. They then played Curry College and faltered again. By the end of its spring games in Florida, the team had lost 10 straight.
After that gauntlet of a schedule, there was an agreement that Rutgers—Newark would work harder and improve the best way it could.
"It was just about coming back and resetting, like whatever happened, happened. We can't change it," said head coach Jaclyn Davis, who is serving in her third season as skipper. "We just have to move forward and learn from our mistakes and be better."
The team embraced that mentality, as junior infielder and outfielder Marissa Houseknecht, can attest.
"Florida definitely wasn't what we wanted. I think we all can agree on that. We came back, and we said, 'What was Florida? I don't remember Florida,'" Houseknecht said. "We said, 'New slate, clean slate. Let's go get it.' And we did that."
As the Raiders have begun play within the New Jersey Athletic Conference, a conference already loaded with teams above .500, it hasn't been easy for the team, as seen in their 3-11 conference record.
"We have a really, really strong conference," Davis said. "Rowan is ranked nationally. TCNJ was ranked nationally. Ramapo was in the mix. So, those are all really tough teams who compete at a really high level ... We want to be in the mix, and that's what we're working toward," she said.
The team plans to do that by embracing its underdog mentality.
"Everybody loves an underdog story. And I think it allows you to be gritty and scrappy, and it gives you permission to just throw everything you have on the field and not hold back," Davis said.
One of the most important aspects of this is the depth and flexibility of the team's roster, spearheaded by Houseknecht, who is currently among the team's top-qualified hitters with a .338 batting average and 24 hits.
"I was a first baseman for the last six years before I came here, so then they were like, 'Can you play third?' ... And (the) same thing with the outfield, (they can) definitely utilize me in more different ways, give different people breaks and just see a different field," Houseknecht said.
Sophomore utility player Keelin O'Brien said she likes to shift from one position to another.
"It helps that I can go move places on the field and do pretty well in them. That's just how I was taught growing up, just play where you can and if you get the ball to find a spot," said O'Brien, who owns a .809 on base plus slugging percentage.
Given its overall record of 5-25, this season may only be a stepping stone for Rutgers—Newark, yet team members said it would still be a success as long as the team shows improvement in the areas where it matters most.
Houseknecht has clear eyes on this plan as the season heads into the final stretch this month.
"We just need to stay focused, stay within yourself, understand your goal, and do the work, and it’ll show."
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