Hitchcock settles in as a rotational starter at Rutgers

Rutgers University junior pitcher Ashley Hitchcock (Eastwood) has become a key starting pitcher for the Scarlet Knights.

The 2022 Rutgers softball season came to a close as the Scarlet Knights fell 5-1 to UNLV in the elimination bracket of the super regional of the National Invitational Softball Championship.

Rutgers finishes the 2022 season at 25-30 overall. Hitchcock was 11-19 with a 4.12 ERA with a season high 12 strikeouts against Colgate, and she pitched a season high nine innings against Notre Dame.

Among the Scarlet Knight season notables included the best start to a season since 1981, the first two first team All-Big Ten selections and two First Team NFCA All-Region honorees for the first time since 2014. The 2022 season marked a 17-game win improvement, including an eight-game win streak from Feb. 18-26 that was the longest for the Scarlet Knights since 1994.

Hitchcock upped her total to 269 strikeouts while teammate Jaden Vickers improved to 267 career K’s to enter next season sixth and seventh respectively on the Rutgers career leaders list. Not an easy task considering who Rutgers plays—the best NCAA Division I teams in the country.

“It is definitely a lot better than high school or travel ball because they are the top hitters in the country,” Hitchcock told The Press last year. “They are older, they have experience, and a lot of these teams have been solid for quite a long time. It is a little bit of a challenge, but I think I am doing a good job of overcoming it.”

Hitchcock went 3-0 in three starts with a 1.67 ERA, tossing three complete games, 26 strikeouts and added a save at the Pirate Clash (Feb. 18-20). She registered a 2-1 record in three starts with a 0.78 ERA, tossing three complete games, 17 strikeouts and tossed two shutouts at the Rutgers Tournament (Mar. 17-20).

Plus, Hitchcock collected a 1-0 record in two starts with a 2.23 ERA, tossing one complete game and eight strikeouts against Penn State (Apr. 22-24).

Her sophomore campaign, Hitchcock earned five victories and pitched seven complete games in 34 appearances and 24 starts inside the circle.

She threw 135.1 innings, including a career-high 10 extra innings ballgame against Indiana (Mar. 13). She tossed 90 strikeouts including a season high six against the Hoosiers (Mar. 13).

Hitchcock also notched five strikeouts in the series-opening 3-2 victory at Michigan State (Mar. 26) and series finale versus Maryland (May 9). She picked up her first career save in a 12-9 win over Purdue opening weekend (Feb. 28), and at the plate, she made 13 appearances hitting .385 going 5-for-13.

As a freshman, she made 19 appearances and five starts inside the circle going 5-3 on the year with the pitching corps’ top ERA of 3.52 with 59 strikeouts in 49.2 innings. She ranked third in total appearances (19) and seventh in batters struck out looking (18) in the Big Ten

She also made 20 plate appearances hitting .268 (11-for-41) for the season with two double, two RBI and three runs.

Hitchcock made four appearances with a 2-1 record and totaling 20 strikeouts at the Bash in the Boro hosted by Georgia Southern (Feb. 7-9). She led Rutgers at the plate during the opening weekend at the Bash in the Boro (Feb. 7-9) hitting .400 (6-for-15).

Hitchcock debuted her freshman year in the season opener against Army at the Bash in the Boro (Feb. 7) with five strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work. She picked up win over Hartford pitching 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts at the Bash in the Boro (Feb. 8), and went 1-0 with a victory over Syracuse posting a 1.91 ERA in her three appearances and struck out five ACC batters.

At the USF Tournament (Feb. 28 - Mar. 1), went 1-1 in four appearances tossing 12.2 innings allowing only four hits and striking out 14. She also made appearances inside the circle in a trio of games with 13 strikeouts during the Thundering Herd Round Robin (Mar. 6-8) including a victory over Bucknell (Mar. 7).

At Eastwood, she was a three-time all-league Pitcher of the Year and three-time all-state second team choice.

She is the school record holder with 968 career strikeouts and 75 victories in three seasons, with school season records in strikeouts (368), lowest ERA (0.88), wins (28), RBIs (51), home runs (8) and batting average (.568)

She led Eastwood High School to two straight regional championship runner-up finishes, and three consecutive sectional and district championship seasons

She said the proudest sports moment was hitting a grand slam to win the semifinals of a regional championships game after pitching 18 strikeouts in the circle.

Her senior year Hitchcock had 27 wins, 369 strikeouts and gave up 15 earns runs in 171 innings for an 0.61 ERA. That topped a four-year career with a school record 102 wins and 1,337 strikeouts, and she had just six losses. Hitchcock was 56-0 in the NBC during her prep career.

“I feel she is the best pitcher the NBC has ever had and it going to take a great pitcher to ever beat her school records at Eastwood,” Eastwood coach Joe Wyant told The Press. 

Eastwood won the NBC title all four years she played. Her class helped the Eagles win 56 NBC games without a loss, and that continued until the 63-game win-streak was broken by Elmwood.