Softball Falls Short at B1G Tournament

Thursday, May 7

Columbus, Ohio

8:00 PM

Rutgers University

29-20

Iowa

18-39

Iowa

Rutgers

May 08 | Softball

Box Score

May 8, 2015

Final Stats

COLUMBUS, OHIO (May 8, 2015) - Despite holding a 3-0 lead through five innings, seven-seeded Rutgers softball team was topped by tenth-seeded Iowa, 5-3, on Thursday night in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at Buckeye Field.

In its inaugural year in the league, RU compiled an overall record of 29-20, picking up 11 wins in conference play. Iowa improved to 18-39 with the win and will advance to face the No. 2 seed Minnesota on Friday, May 8 at 8 p.m.

Senior Chandler Howard (North Wilmington, Del.) led the squad with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, including two RBIs and two runs. Junior Jordan Whitley (Clayton, Del.) also went 3-for-4 in the loss.

After a hit from Howard and a walk from classmate Jackie Bates (Lincroft, N.J.),Whitley contributed a single of her own to load the bases. Freshman Rebecca Hall (Fairfax, Va.) then drew a walk to send Howard across,giving the Scarlet Knights a 1-0 lead after the first inning.

Senior Alyssa Landrith (Vacaville, Calif.) opened the second inning with back-to-back strike outs before Iowa snuck in a hit. The lefty delivered her third strikeout of the frame to hold RU's 1-0 advantage.

Following a two-out walk from junior Stephanie Huang (Paramus, N.J.) to keep the inning alive, Howard registered her sixth home run of the year to bring both runs in, extending the Scarlet Knight edge to 3-0 after two innings.

After Landrith worked a 1-2-3 inning in the third, the lefty escaped a jam in the following frame to strand two Hawkeyes on, keeping RU's lead unharmed.

In the top of the fifth, Whitley loaded the bases once again with a single through right center. However, the Scarlet Knights were unable to add to their lead, as they stranded all three runners on.

After Hawkeye Megan Blank registered a one-out triple, Holly Hoffman sent her home with a base hit. It was Kaitlyn Mullarkey who then notched a two-run homer to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth. With two outs and two runners on, Bates made a diving catch in centerfield to prevent any further damage.

Iowa would go on to add another two-run homer this time from Sammi Gyerman to move in front, 5-2, in the first half of the seventh. Landrith then induced three consecutive ground outs to return the offense to the plate for one more chance. However, the Scarlet Knights were unable to counter the comeback.

KNIGHT NOTES

Rutgers registered its most victories since the 2013 sesaon, when the Scarlet Knights posted 30 wins on the year.
Alyssa Landrith, RU's all-time winningest pitcher, finishes the season with 15 victories, marking her fourth straight year with 15 wins or more.
Landrith extended her strikeout record to 642 career strikeouts.
Landrith registered the 80^th complete game of her career to rank third in the all-time career record books.
Chandler Howard brought her career total to 211 hits, a mark that ranks third in program history.
Jackie Bates brought her career total to 94 walks, tying for the first-place spot on the all-time list. She had a program-high 38 walks this season.
Jordan Whitley brought her season total to 62 hits, a mark that leads the stat sheet for RU.
RU made its debut on the Big Ten Network with tonight's contest. The originally scheduled debut had been set for the opening game of RU's series against Purdue, which was called off due to freezing temperatures.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers softball, follow the program on Twitter (@RUSoftball) and Instagram (@RU_Softball). The team is also on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersSB).

- RU-