IOWA CITY, Iowa – Three Rutgers softball Scarlet Knights landed on All-Big Ten Teams, it was announced on Wednesday by the league office prior to the start of the 2024 Big Ten Softball Tournament.
Senior two-way Morgan Smith was a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection and named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team, senior shortstop Kyleigh Sand landed on her third All-Big Ten team earning first-team honors and graduate student pitcher Mattie Boyd was a Second Team All-Big Ten pick.
Smith, who was named the No. 1 two-way player in the nation by Softball America last week in the publication’s May position power rankings, enters the postseason hitting .412 with 68 hits, 49 runs, 13 doubles, four triples, 19 home runs and a .885 slugging percentage. In the circle, Smith is 11-10 with a 3.54 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 30 appearances and 130.2 innings of work. Smith leads the league in RBIs and is tied with the Big Ten Player of the Year Jess Oakland as the conference’s leader in home runs along with ranking third in batting average.
In addition to setting a new season benchmark in RBIs, Smith’s name can be found in the record book ranked second in season home runs, seventh in season batting average, sixth in season hits and in her two seasons “On The Banks” second in career batting average and seventh in career home runs.
Defensively, Smith lands on the All-Big Ten defensive team for the second consecutive season. She held a .983 field percentage playing at both center field and pitcher having only made one error at each position on 118 chances. Altogether she collected 67 putouts and 49 assists.
A Big Ten Player of the Week back on April 15, Smith batted .500 (6-for-12) across five games with four home runs, 16 RBIs, seven runs scored and a 1.583 slugging percentage in RU’s 3-2 week including a series victory over Maryland for the second-straight year. The senior Scarlet Knight also added a pair of sac flies and was 3-for-3 on stolen bases. Smith also made two appearances in the circle tossing six innings with six strikeouts. In the doubleheader with the Terps, she went 4-for-5 with a double, two home runs and 10 RBIs while surpassing Jackie Bates (2015) as RU’s single-season RBIs leader.
Leadoff and shortstop Kyleigh Sand lands on her third All-Big Ten Team becoming the recipient of the most…
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