Rutgers softball set to kick off 1st Big Ten home series against Purdue
The Rutgers softball team will host Purdue at home this weekend at the Rutgers Softball Complex in Piscataway. After sweeping Illinois, the Scarlet Knights (26-10, 3-0) are riding high before their first home conference series of the season against the Boilermakers (15-18, 0-5).
Rutgers and the Fighting Illini (21-12, 0-3) faced an unexpected pause during their first game last Friday afternoon due to inclement weather. Despite the game stopping with a score tied at 2 runs, the Knights were able to win 7-5 after the game resumed on Saturday.
During its second game on Saturday, Rutgers denied any runs from the Fighting Illini. The Knights upset Illinois and won the game by a shutout score of 8-0.
Ending the series off with another close game, Rutgers concluded the weekend with a hard-earned victory of 10-8. Thanks to multiple home runs and runs batted in (RBIs) by the Knights, Rutgers was able to shut out the Fighting Illini.
Senior infielder Payton Lincavage was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, as she led the Knights with a batting average of .600 against Illinois, along with 2 home runs, 4 runs scored and four RBIs.
Rutgers last met with Purdue in the spring of the 2022 season, where it won 1 of 3 games played over the Boilermakers.
In previous seasons, the Knights have won 6 out of 11 games against Purdue. In regard to starting off its Big Ten conference games on an even stronger note, Rutgers hopes to add to its winning record against the Boilermakers this weekend.
Purdue lost all three of its games during its first Big Ten series against Nebraska last weekend. Before meeting with the Knights this weekend, the Boilermakers will compete against Indiana in a double-header this week.
Purdue’s Tyrina Jones currently leads her team with a batting average of .354 and 6 home runs this season. Following Jones is Alex Echazarreta, with an average of .341.
The Boilermakers' leading pitchers on the season are Echazarreta and Mo Wimpee, the latter currently holding an earned run average (ERA) of 3 with 34 strikeouts this season. Echazarreta follows behind with a 3.15 ERA and 42 strikeouts for Purdue.
This season, the Boilermakers have batted for totals of 228 hits, 122 runs and 17 home runs, statistics that put them in the middle of the pack of each category in the conference.
Purdue currently holds a 3.85 ERA and 1.56 walks and hits through innings pitching (WHIP) through 199 innings. Rutgers has scored a total of 216 runs this season and will look to take advantage of the Boilermakers' ERA numbers that put them third in the conference in that category.
The Knights will have the first pitch at 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon at the Rutgers Softball Complex on Livingston campus to start the three-day series. Saturday’s game will also take place at 3 p.m., followed by Sunday’s game at 1 p.m. The games will be available to stream on Big Ten Network+.
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