Rutgers softball sweeps Illinois
The Rutgers softball team won all three games against Illinois over the weekend. This is the first time the Scarlet Knights (26-10, 3-0) have swept a Big Ten opponent since 2019.
On Friday evening, Rutgers played four innings against the Fighting Illini (18-12, 0-3) until inclement weather postponed the game. The game was pushed to Saturday afternoon and ended with a tied score of 2-2.
Resuming on Saturday afternoon, the Knights' offense came alive. Junior pitcher Morgan Smith, senior catcher Katie Wingert and freshman utility infielder Calista Collins all hit home runs. Smith also pitched 1.1 innings inside the pitcher's circle, allowing four hits and two earned runs.
Wingert's home run put her at fourth on the all-time home run leaders list with 27 home runs throughout her collegiate career so far.
The game was close, and Illinois had a 1-run lead until Rutgers scored 5 runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a commanding 7-3 lead. The Fighting Illini would score 2 more runs, but the game would end with the Knights ultimately winning by a score of 7-5.
The win marked head coach Kristen Butler's 200th career victory.
Rutgers grabbed another victory, winning 8-0 in its second game on Saturday. Freshman pitcher Raimy Gamsby was inside the circle, pitched all seven innings, struck out seven batters and allowed no runs. Illinois was only able to get six hits off of Gamsby.
On offense, the Knights struck early, scoring 5 runs in the top of the first inning. Wingert hit her second home run of the game against the Fighting Illini in the seventh inning and senior infielder Payton Lincavage also hit a home run in the fourth inning. Rutgers had 11 hits in the game.
On Sunday, the Knights played their final game of the series, winning 10-8. The score was close for most of the game, but Rutgers was just barely able to secure the victory.
Sophomore infielder Maddie Lawson came home on a sacrifice fly ball to get the Knights their first run in the top of the second inning. Rutgers scored 5 runs in the top of the third inning to take the 6-1 lead, but Illinois responded by scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the third inning to cut the Knights' lead to 1 run.
In the third inning, Lincavage homered to center field, making it her second of the series. Sophomore pitcher and first baseman Georgia Ingle hit her first career home run in the fifth inning, homering straight down the left-field line.
Rutgers took a 10-7 lead in the sixth inning. It was able to hang on to its double-digit score and ultimately won by 2 runs.
Before the sweep, the Knights did not have a lot of success against the Fighting Illini in previous seasons.
Rutgers will travel home to the Rutgers Softball Complex on Livingston campus to compete in a weekend three-game series against Purdue. The series will start on Friday at 3 p.m, and games will also be played on Saturday and Sunday. All games will be broadcasted on the Big Ten Network.
For more updates on the Rutgers softball team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
