Softball Hosts Penn State

Friday, March 27

Piscataway. N.J.

6:00 PM

Rutgers University

Penn State

Photo by: Cos Lymperopoulos

Mar 26 | Softball

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers softball is home for another Big Ten weekend and welcomes Penn State for a three-game series on Friday, March 27 at 6 p.m., Saturday, March 28 at 3 p.m. and Sunday, March 29 at 1 p.m.

Admission to all Rutgers softball home games are free.

Rutgers softball this week graphic vs. Penn State featuring Siera Hoekstra

SERIES INFO

Series Info:	vs. Penn State RU Softball Complex - Piscataway, N.J.
Parking:	Yellow & Green Lots - Hospital Road
Game Notes:	Rutgers \| Penn State
Statistics:	Ru tgers \| Penn State \| Big Ten
Live Stats & Video:	Friday, March 27 6:00 p.m. - Stats \| Video (B1G+) Saturday, March 28 3:00 p.m. - Stats \| Video (B1G+) Sunday, March 29 1:00 p.m. - Stats \| Video (B1G+) * - All times listed ET
Social Media:	Facebook \| X \| Instagram

PROMOS

FRIDAY: BLACK OUT - Help Black Out the Rutgers Softball Complex for the Scarlet Knights' series opener with the Nittany Lions. Black out giveaways available at the marketing table. Fans can also pick up light sticks at the marketing table.

SATURDAY: YOUTH SOFTBALL DAY - Kids are invited to make their own Rutgers Softball posters and join the Scarlet Knights post-game for autographs. Free pencil and folder giveaway at the marketing table.

SUNDAY: WOMEN IN SPORTS APPRECIATION GAME - Pick up a free "Rutgers Watches Women's Sports" t-shirt while supplies last at the marketing table.

ABOUT RUTGERS

Head Coach: Kristen Butler (Florida '06) - 278-326 overall (12th Season)/174-204 at Rutgers (Eighth Season)
2026 Record: 17-15 overall, 3-6 Big Ten

Top Scarlet Knights:
Batting

Riley Hwang - .402 BA, 23 runs, 33 hits, 6 doubles, 5 HR, 21 RBIs
Charleigh Schuettler - .367 BA, 14 runs, 18 hits, 4 doubles, 9 RBIs
Addie Osborne - .329 BA, 27 runs, 26 hits, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HRs, 27 RBIs
Sam Rohwer - .323 BA, 21 runs, 30 hits, 6 doubles, 9 HRs, 25 RBIs
Mia Mitchell - .300 BA, 10 runs, 21 hits, 6 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HRs, 19 RBIs

Pitching

Kelsey Hoekstra - 4-4 W-L, 3.54 ERA, 1 CG, 1 shutout, 1 save, 57.1 IP, 65 Ks
Kassandra Gewecke - 5-7 W-L, 5.25 ERA, 1 CG, 62.2 IP, 41 Ks
Brooke Shifflett - 6-4 W-L, 5.40 ERA, 2 CG, 1 shutout, 55.0 IP, 52 Ks

ABOUT PENN STATE

Head Coach: Clarisa Crowell (Virginia Tech '02) - 364-316-1 overall (14th Season)/150-130 at Penn State (Sixth Season)
2026 Record: 20-11 overall, 1-5 Big Ten

All-Time Series: Rutgers Trails 30-42 (Last Meeting: April 5, 2025 - L, 11-15; April 4, 2025 - L 0-8 (5); April 4, 2025 - L, 1-2)

Top Nittany Lions:
Batting

Brooke Klosowicz - . 387 BA, 25 runs, 41 hits, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 10 HRs, 33 RBIs
Allison Oneacre - .363 BA, 23 runs, 33 hits, 7 doubles, 12 HRs, 40 RBIs
Natalie Lieto - .319 BA, 32 runs, 30 hits, 10 doubles, 5 HRs, 18 RBIs
Breanna Hanik - .314 BA, 17 runs, 22 hits, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HRs, 17 RBIs

Pitching

Mackenzie Duncan - 4-1 W-L, 1.73 ERA, 1 CG, 1 shutout, 36.1 IP, 52 Ks
Abigail Britton - 3-2 W-L, 3.22 ERA, 1 save, 41.1 IP, 35 Ks
McKenna Young - 6-2 W-L, 3.29 ERA, 2 CG, 1 shutout, 38.1 IP, 32 Ks

NEW HOME SWEET HOME

The RU Softball Complex has with the addition of new dugouts, grandstand and press box, all constructed during the off-season. Additionally, lights were installed at the complex as the Scarlet Knights will take to the field for night games at home for the first time in the program's 52-year history.
The new grandstand features chairback and bench-style seating, as well as ADA accommodations, and a state-of-the-art sound system.
The new press box houses a dedicated broadcast booth, a two-tiered working press, game presentation and operations area and two covered outdoor areas for additional workspace.
Rutgers Athletics' commitment to the student-athlete experience is not only showcased by the current complex upgrade, but by the numerous enhancements over the last several years.
The facility has already seen the addition of all-weather turf, updated bullpens, new fencing and backstop and a new video scoreboard. Additionally, the field was upgraded for prime-time network capability for the Big Ten Network and national television networks to broadcast games live from Piscataway, New Jersey.
Rutgers softball unveiled a state-of-the-art locker room in the fall of 2020 at Jersey Mike's Arena, featuring all-new amenities. The Scarlet Knights' home away from home features modern individual wardrobe-style lockers with charging stations and ample personal storage, a nutrition area, surround video, sound and LED lighting system and a dedicated space for equipment.
The Fred Hill Training Complex opened in January of 2017, spanning 22,500 square feet and equipped with state-of-the-art pitching machines, six batting cages, bullpens and a full turf infield. The facility provides the team with a dedicated home for workouts and practices year-round.

Rutgers Softball Complex Upgrade Rendering

LAST TIME SINCE ...

The 17-3 victory in the game two win over FDU in the home opener, it was the largest margin of victory for the Scarlet Knights since defeating Mississippi Valley State back on Feb. 13, 2023 by a score of 16-1.
The 14-11 victory at Indiana on March 15, Rutgers erased an eight-run deficit marking the the largest comeback for the Scarlet Knights since trailing 17-9 to Michigan State and coming back for a 22-17 win back on April 4, 2015.
Also in the 14-11 come-from-behind series win over Indiana on March 15, Rutgers' four home runs were the most for the team since belting four against Illinois on March 24, 2023. Sam Rohwer had two home runs and Addie Osborne and Rachel Millan had one apiece.
In the 16-8 game one mid-week win over Saint Peter's on March 10, Riley Hwang's six RBIs were the most by a Scarlet Knight since Rebecca Halt's six RBIs at Penn State back on April 21, 2017.
Also in the game one win over the Peacocks, Hwang and Kelsey Hoekstra belted back-to-back home runs for the first time since Morgan Smith and Payton Lincavage against Wisconsin on April 7, 2024, in a 4-1 series finale victory.
In the game two 12-3 run-rule win over the Peacocks, RU stole eight bases, the most by the squad since taking seven against Maryland Eastern Shore on March 6, 2011.
In the 6-5 12-inning Big Ten season opening victory at Maryland on March 6, Kelsey Hoekstra fired off 17 strikeouts, the most by a Scarlet Knight since Jaden Vickers' 17 in the Purdue contest on Mar. 29, 2022.

B1G PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Kelsey Hoekstra was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on February 9. The Overland Park, Kansas native was named to the NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament team after going 2-0 in the circle with a no-hitter and batted .556 with three runs and three RBIs in leading Rutgers to a 3-2 opening weekend.
Hoekstra collected her first career no-hitter in a 5-0 victory over North Carolina Central, striking out a career high nine Eagles. She also tossed four scoreless innings versus South Alabama in the 11-3 five-inning run-rule win. The right-hander is currently holding down a 0.60 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 11.2 innings of work.

NCAA LINEUP OF THE WEEK

Senior Mia Mitchell was named to Michella Chester's Starting Lineup for week four following her performance against FGCU and No. 10 Florida State at the Unconquered Invitational.
The Scarlet Knight transfer hit .455 with five hits, four runs, six RBIs, two doubles and two HRs, including a grand slam, in Rutgers' sweep of FGCU and two appearances against No. 10 Florida State.
Mitchell helped RU a 10-7 win and 9-1 run-rule victory over FGCU finishing the day 4-for-6 with two doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and four runs scored.
In the 10-7 game one win, she was 2-for-3 with two RBIs on a home run and a double and two runs scored. Mitchell was one of three Scarlet Knights with an HR in the game.
In game two, Rutgers pushed across nine runs on six hits, including a double and grand slam from the bat of Mia Mitchell, in the fourth inning. She finished game two 2-for-2 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

Michella Chester's Starting Lineup for Week 4️⃣ 🥎

P: Maya Johnson - @BelmontSoftball
C: Sarah Gordon - @UGASoftball
1B: Lexi McDaniel - @OU_Softball
2B: Aly VanBrandt - @IndianaSB
3B: Bella Cabral - @UVASoftball
SS: Gabbie Garcia - @OU_Softball
OF: Mia Mitchell -… pic.twitter.com/ufH4AKbAJG
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) March 4, 2026

ROSTER FUN FACTS

Rutgers is back with a balanced roster of returnees, newcomers and transfers. The Scarlet Knights welcome back eight letterwinners and six starters from last year's youthful squad while adding 11 newcomers to the mix, including six transfers.
Etta and Eva Garofalo are one of 15 sets of twins, and four freshman twins, playing Division I softball this season. The Scarlet Knight twins will also be taking on twin sisters from three other teams this season including Tennessee, Nebraska and FDU.
The duo, however, are not the only sisters on the roster as they join senior Siera Hoekstra and sophomore Kelsey Hoesktra as sisters in Scarlet. Together, the two sets of sisters are among the 27 sets of sisters who are teammates. Rutgers joins North Alabama and South Florida with multiple sets of sisters on a squad.

SETON HALL RECAP

Rutgers was back to nonconference action, playing its fourth game in four days, and getting a 14-4 win over Seton Hall in six innings
Back-to-back opening home runs in a matter of nine pitches between Sam Rohwer and Riley Hwang put RU in front from the start. While a four-run fourth inning for Seton Hall saw the Scarlet Knights only up by two, 6-4, Rutgers exploded for eight runs, including a grand slam for Hwang, in the sixth for the sixth run-rule victory of the year.
Hwang belted two home runs and finished the game 4-for-5 with five RBIs and four runs scored. Rohwer delivered her team-leading ninth home run of the year and plated three times. Addie Osborne went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs and Baileigh Burtis added an RBI and two runs scored. In the circle,Brooke Shifflett got the start and improved to 6-3 on the year. In her three innings of work, she gave up three earned runs and two walks while fanning three Pirates.

UCLA RECAP

Rutgers softball opened home Big Ten play with #7 UCLA with two of the three games played in front of standing-room only, overflow crowds on Saturday and Sunday. The Bruins swept the series with 16-5, 13-3 and 17-6 victories.
Game one marked the first-ever night home game in the 52-year history of the program. While the Bruins, who are second in the country in home runs, went out to a 6-0 lead in the second, the Scarlet Knights halved their deficit in the bottom half. Rutgers trailed 8-5 after three as Baileigh Burtis belted the complex's first-ever twilight home run, before UCLA eventually took the run-rule win. Sam Rohwer added an RBI base hit to push across RU's third run to half the UCLA lead in the second. Brooke Shifflett tossed 2.2 innings of relief and struck out four.
In game two, Burtis made it back-to-back contests with a home run while Rohwer collected her team-leading eighth home run of the season. Burtis went yard for the second straight night. It marked her fourth home run of the season and rounded out the night 2-for-2 from the plate. Rohwer gave Rutgers its seventh game of the season with two or more home runs.
In the finale, UCLA held an 11-2 advantage after three innings, but the Scarlet Knights were able to cut into the Bruins' lead in the fourth as three of RU's four runs in the inning came on the heels of UCLA's season-high 12 walks. A trio of bases-loaded walks had Rutgers down 11-6 before UCLA was able to take the game in six innings for its 22nd consecutive win. Mia Mitchell was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, while Burtis hit 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. Mitchell along with Addie Osborne and Jayla Fuller each collected RBIs on bases-loaded walks in the fourth. Charleigh Schuettler posted an RBI double. Marley Caldwell tossed the final three innings and logged a trio of strikeouts.

FDU RECAP

Rutgers softball opened up the newly renovated Rutgers Softball Complex on Wednesday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of FDU with a 8-0 shutout in game one and dominating game two, 17-3, in the largest margin of victory since 2023.
In game one, the contest was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when RU pushed across four runs on a trio of hits and added another three in the fifth, including the first home run of the updated park by Makenna Coleman. Mia Mitchell walked it off in the sixth with an RBI double. Baileigh Burtis was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs, Coleman posted her second home run of the season and also scored a pair of runs and Addie Osborne added a two-run triple. In the circle, Kelsey Hoekstra improved to 4-3 overall, allowing just one hit and one walk while fanning six. Brooke Shifflett pitched two innings of relief and recorded a trio of strikeouts. She allowed no hits and one walk.
Game two was RU's largest margin of victory since defeating Mississippi Valley State back in 2023 by a score of 16-1. The 17-3 win saw the Scarlet Knights generate 10 hits from seven different players and had the bases loaded to walk in three runs. Mia Mitchell collected her second grand slam of the season and Osborne moved into a tie for the team lead in home runs with her seventh of the year. Osborne finished the game 3-for-4 with five RBIs and two runs scored. Coleman went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Joining Osborne and Coleman with two runs each were Riley Hwang and Etta Garofalo. Marley Caldwell went to 2-0 on the year, going 3.0 innings in the start and holding the Knights to two hits while striking out four.

INDIANA RECAP

Rutgers softball went 1-2 on the road at Indiana last weekend. The Hoosiers took game one, 12-2, in five innings and game two, 6-1. However, in the series finale, the Scarlet Knights overcame an eight-run deficit to power to a 14-11 victory.
The win was the largest comeback for the Scarlet Knights since trailing 17-9 to Michigan State and coming back for a 22-17 win back on April 4, 2015.
In the win on the blustery day, eight home runs were registered between both squads and four from the Scarlet Knights, including two from the bat of Sam Rohwer and Addie Osborne's two-run shot that gave RU the lead in the top of the sixth.
Indiana went out to an 8-0 lead after two innings, but Rutgers halved the Hoosier lead with four runs in the fourth and pulled within a run after a three-run fourth to trail 8-7. After Indiana added some cushion with two runs in the bottom half, the Scarlet Knights scored a trio of runs on four hits to knot the score at 10-10. In the sixth, Osborne cracked her sixth home run of the year in the sixth giving RU its first lead of the game at 12-10 and stay in front for the win.
Rutgers swung for 15 hits and struck out only once. Rohwer went 2-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs and now has a team-leading seven home runs on the season. Rachel Millan went 2-for-3 with her second home run of the year and three RBIs. Osborne finished 2-for-3 with a home run, her sixth of the season, and three runs scored.
The Scarlet Knights used a host of pitchers with Marley Caldwell getting the win for her first Scarlet Knights victory. She tossed 2.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits with four strikeouts.

SAINT PETER'S RECAP

Rutgers softball swept a road afternoon doubleheader with Saint Peter's last Tuesday afternoon, taking a 16-8 victory in game one behind three home runs, including a grand slam from Riley Hwang, and a 12-3 run-rule win led by four RBIs and the third home run of the year from Sam Rohwer.
In game one, Riley Hwang, Kelsey Hoekstra and Rachel Millan all powered the Scarlet Knights with home run. Hwang belted RU's second grand slam of the year and her third of the year. Hwang and Hoekstra belted back-to-back home runs for the first time since Morgan Smith and Payton Lincavage against Wisconsin on April 7, 2024, in a 4-1 series finale victory. The Scarlet Knights also tied their season-high with three home runs. RU also had a trio of home runs in a 10-7 win over FGCU on Feb. 27.
Hwang hit 4-for-5 with six RBIs, a grand slam, two doubles and four runs scored. Her six RBIs were the most by a Scarlet Knight since Rebecca Halt's six RBIs at Penn State back on April 21, 2017. Milan finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Hoekstra went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Altogether, eight different Scarlet Knights batted a run in and five scored on two or more occasions.
Right-hander Brooke Shifflett improved to 5-3 overall, totaling 4.2 innings in the circle. The junior gave up two earned runs on nine hits while striking out six.
The Scarlet Knights scored three runs to open and held a 10-0 lead after two and a half innings of play. The Peacocks cut their deficit behind a run in the third and six run on seven hits in the fourth.
In game two, Rutgers got onto the scoreboard in the second inning with a trio of runs and never looked back. Sam Rohwer and Hwang went yard in game two as Hwang made it back-to-back games with a dinger while Rohwer posted her fourth of the year.
Rohwer finished the game 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Charleigh Schuettler went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. She pushed across a pair of runs on a double and stole home for RU's early edge. Hwang and Bailey Briggs were responsible for two RBIs each as well.
Kassandra Gewecke upped her mark to 5-5 on the year. She allowed two earned runs on six hits while recording five strikeouts in four innings of work. Freshman Marley Caldwell pitched the fifth, fanning the three batters she faced.

MARYLAND SERIES RECAP

Rutgers softball took the series from Maryland for a seventh time to open up Big Ten action this season. The Scarlet Knights took a 6-5 victory in 12-innings to open play. While the Terps topped RU 2-1 in game two, RU came back with a 9-3 victory in Sunday's finale.
It was a marathon start to the Big Ten season for Rutgers softball, but after three hours and 51 minutes and 12 innings, the Scarlet Knights topped Maryland, 6-5. Kelsey Hoekstra delivered 17 strikeouts, tying for the most by a pitcher in D1 this season, the most by a Big Ten Pitcher and most by a Scarlet Knight since 2022. Brooke Shifflett, meanwhile, added another five Ks in the start as the staff totaled 22 total strikeouts, the most in a game in any division this year. The tie was broken in the top of the 12th as Riley Hwang led off with a walk and advanced into scoring position off of Hoekstra's sac bunt and came on a Siera Hoekstra single to left.
On Saturday, Maryland took a lead it would not lose in the bottom of the first. While Addie Osborne's fifth home run of the season knotted the score at 1-1 on the first pitch of the fifth inning, the Terps pushed across the go-ahead run on a sac fly in the sixth.
In the series finale, it took all of five pitches for the Scarlet Knights to go and stay in front. Sam Rohwer knocked in her third home run of the season with the fifth pitch of the game and Osborne added three runs in a 9-3 victory.

UP NEXT

The Scarlet Knights host Wagner in midweek contest on Tuesday, March 31 before traveling to #9 Nebraska for a three-game series on April 3-5.

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