Softball Primed for Ohio State Series at Home

Friday, April 6

Piscataway, N.J.

2 PM

Rutgers University

Ohio State

Apr 05 | Softball

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No. 23/24 Buckeyes visit RU for three-game Big Ten set

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (April 5, 2018) - Rutgers softball continues a six-game home stand at the RU Softball Complex with a three-game Big Ten series against No. 23/24 Ohio State on Friday through Sunday, April 6-8.

Friday's game is starting earlier than originally scheduled with a 2 p.m. start. The teams have reverted back to the original schedule of playing one game each day.

THE SLATE \| All Times Eastern
Fri. 4/6	vs. Ohio State	2 p.m.	Free Pizza \| Poster Giveaway
Sat. 4/7	vs. Ohio State	1:00 p.m.
Sun. 4/8	vs. Ohio State	12 p.m.

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HEAD-TO-HEAD
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KNIGHT NOTES
• Senior first baseman Rebecca Hall is ranked among the best hitters in the nation and the Big Ten. Hall leads the Big Ten in triples (6), while coming in second in total bases (83), fourth in hits (45) and fifth in RBIs (32) and batting average (.385). By the numbers ... 14 RBIs needed for Hall to set a new program career record ... 9 doubles needed to set a new school record ... 6 triples currently ranks third in the NCAA... 83 total bases ranks 23rd in the NCAA.

• Through games played on Monday, April 2, Rutgers softball leads NCAA Division I in turning double plays at 0.85 per contest, posting 28 in 33 games. The double plays have benefited four different pitchers in the circle this season, with innings leader Whitney Jones pacing the group with 11. Eighteen of the plays came with one out already on the board, hence ending the inning. Hall has been in on 23 doubles plays, followed by 12 from freshman second baseman Myah Moy and 11 from junior shortstop Jess Hughes.

• Following the NCAA's third RPI report of the season, comparing the numbers shows a burgeoning turnaround for the Scarlet Knights. Ranked at 112 in the RPI, Rutgers is 58 points higher than this time last season. RU has a win over an RPI Top 50 team - one over No. 49 Houston and two over No. 50 Kennesaw State - for the first time since 2012, and has six wins over RPI Top 100 teams this year, two less than the last four years combined.

• Junior shortstop Jess Hughes is riding a career-high 14-game hit streak while hitting .429 over that span and getting on-base at a .533 clip. She ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 26 runs scored.

• Rutgers played the longest inning game in program history on Wed. March 15, a 5-4 victory in 15 innings and three hours and 15 minutes at Florida Atlantic. Myah Moy was 4-for-7 with her first career home run and the game-winning run, which was driven home by another rookie, Erin Collins. Whitney Jones got the win after a gutsy 12-inning relief effort, stamped by a game-ending K.

200 HIT CLUB
Rebecca Hall recorded hit No. 200 of her career in the seventh inning of the dramatic comeback victory over Penn State on Friday, March 30. She becomes just the fourth player in program history to reach the milestone.

Hall moved up the RU record book in a few categories this year. With 29 RBIs, she now ranks fourth with 129 career ribbies. She ranks fourth all-time with 202 career hits, her nine doubles place her fourth all-time with 43, and her six triples moved her into sixth place with nine career three-baggers.

This season she has 15 multi-hit games, nine multi-RBI contests and reached base safely in 13 straight games from March 10-31.

TRENDING
• Rutgers is 12-0 when scoring six or more runs in a contest.
• The Scarlet Knights are 10-0 when leading after four innings.
• RU's most productive inning has been the final scheduled frame, with 26 runs scored in the seventh inning.
• Nicole Bowman has reached base safely in 10 straight games with an OBP of .333.
• Rebecca Hall has 15 of Rutgers' 47 multi-hit performances this season.
• Rutgers is 31-for-35 in stolen base attempts and has stolen a base in 13 of its last 19 games.
• The Scarlet Knights are 13-2 when scoring first, and 4-13 when the opponent does.
• Five of Rutgers' 12 wins have been in come-from-behind fashion when trailing after five innings.
• Rutgers has hit a home run in 11-of-15 wins.

HUGHES COMES HOME
Junior and Sewell, New Jersey native Jess Hughes transferred in from Fordham and earned the starting nod at shortstop. Hughes set a Fordham record for OBP (.510) in 2017. She hit .370 for the Rams with 12 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs and 41 RBIs en route to NFCA All-Region, All-ECAC and All-Atlantic 10 honors. She ranked 15th in the nation with 0.87 walks per game and 18th with six triples.

BOOMING BACKSTOP
Senior catcher Sierra Maddox's role calling games and protecting the plate is vital, as is her bat in the middle of Rutgers' lineup. She has driven in 14 runs this season while getting on base at a .341 clip. Maddox has thrown out 10 would-be base stealers from behind the plate and sports a .981 fielding percentage.

RUTGERS RECRUITS
Jay Nelson welcomes 10 newcomers to the squad in 2018, including nine first-years.

Myah Moy has played in all 33 games (32 starts at second base) and leads the freshmen with 29 hits. She is hitting 4-for-13 (.307) in Big Ten Play with three runs and an RBI in four contests.

Erin Collins picked up a hit in all three games of the Penn State series. She hit her second home run of the year in Game 1, the first of two RBIs in that victory. The second was the walkoff RBI groundout that clinched the comeback 6-5 win on Friday.

BOWMAN BREAKS OUT
Nicole Bowman was named to the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge All-Tournament Team by batting 5-for-11 with a walk, including a 2-for-2 mark in the win over Houston. The sophomore accounted for 39 of Rutgers' 97 hits by rookies last year. Bowman slashed .275/.393/.437 as a freshman with three home runs, 12 doubles and 34 RBIs.

She drove in a career-high four RBIs in the win against North Dakota, including a two-run home run to dead center, her fifth career dinger.

After missing the first four games of the Bear Classic at Mercer due to illness, Bowman returned for the finale and made up for lost time with a three-run, game-tying home run in the third inning, part of a four-RBI game. The sophomore has a hit in 12 of her last 15 games while reaching base safely in 10 straight.

UP NEXT
Rutgers heads back on the road for a Big Ten series at another nationally ranked opponent, Michigan, from April 13-15 in Ann Arbor. Friday's opener is set for 6 p.m. ET, with Saturday slated for 2 p.m. ET and Sunday scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.