Rutgers softball annihilates LIU in Tuesday matinee in Brooklyn
The Rutgers softball team defeated LIU in Brooklyn, New York, 10-2 in five innings of play on Tuesday afternoon.
Early in the first inning, the Scarlet Knights (27-18, 8-6) would break open the scoring with heads-up base running by graduate student utility player LA Matthews. Matthews scored on a fielder's choice hit by junior infielder Maddie Lawson to get Rutgers on the board.
A few batters later, graduate student infielder Payton Lincavage came to the dish with two runners on and blasted a 3-run home run to center field to extend the Knights' lead to 4 runs going into the bottom of the second inning.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Rutgers continued to assert its dominance. With Matthews and senior shortstop Kyleigh Sand in scoring position, the Knights capitalized on a wild pitch, and Sand scored extending their lead to 5 runs.
The Sharks (21-16, 8-4) chomped into Rutgers' lead after a triple by Mari Narvaiz, who later scored on a groundout by Lindsey Cowans. LIU would add another run in the bottom of the fourth inning after Narviaz scored on an error by the Knights' defense. The run would ultimately be the last of the day given up by Rutgers.
The Knights added some insurance in the top of the fifth inning, scoring 5 more runs. Lincavage could not be stopped, as she launched her second home run of the day while tallying her 4th and 5th runs batted in (RBI) of the day, increasing Rutgers' lead to 7-2.
The Knights' offense then pushed the lead to 10-2 in the inning with RBI from Matthews, Lawson and senior pitcher and outfielder Morgan Smith.
With an 8-run deficit, the Sharks needed to score in the bottom half of the fifth inning to keep the game going. Rutgers, as it did throughout the game, stood tall defensively and did not allow LIU to score, earning itself a 10-2 victory in five innings of play.
Smith started in the circle for the Knights, pitching all five innings. She allowed just three hits and 1 earned run while striking out three batters. With the win, Smith improved her record to 9-9 on the season.
As for the Sharks, Cowans was charged with the loss. She pitched four innings and gave up 7 runs on seven hits, dropping her record to 12-10 on the season. Kira Buckner worked the final inning for LIU in the circle, giving up 2 earned runs on five hits.
With the win, Rutgers looks to build momentum as it continues the gauntlet of Big Ten play. It will play two straight road series' against Minnesota starting Friday and Michigan State beginning on April 26 before finally returning home to face off against Monmouth on May 1.
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