Lauren Peloquin is the first full-time head softball coach at Rutgers-Newark, director of athletics Mark Griffin has announced.

The Berkley, MA, native comes to the Scarlet Raiders from Trinity College where she served as a graduate assistant softball coach as well as assistant volleyball coach for three years. As the pitching coach, she helped the Bantams to their first-ever New England Small College Athletic Conference tournament berth in 2005. She also helped the women’s volleyball team to a 13-10 record as an assistant last fall.

“In Lauren, we have added a tremendous asset to our overall program,” Griffin stated. “As the first full-time softball coach at Rutgers-Newark, she will allow us to become more competitive within the New Jersey Athletic Conference. We are committed to upgrading the staff, facilities and support efforts surrounding not only our softball team, but our entire intercollegiate athletic program.”

“I am looking forward to leading this softball team to a successful future by capitalizing on the talents of our current players, recruiting talented student-athletes and hiring skilled assistant coaches,” Peloquin said. “It’s wonderful to be at an institution where the young women on the team are as excited to get to work as I am.”

As a player, Peloquin rewrote the pitching record book at Amherst College from 1999 through 2002, leaving the school with nine single-season and 10 career records. She had a perfect game included in her three no-hitters at the school. The right-hander posted 32 shutouts in just 90 career starts with a collegiate earned run average of just 1.21. She was the NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 1999, Player of the Year in 2000 and Pitcher of the Year in 2001 while being named to the league’s all-star team four times. She also was an NESCAC All-Academic Team member as a junior and senior.

At Coyle-Cassidy High School, Peloquin was a two-time Boston Globe & Herald All-Scholastic selection as well as a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American twice.

Peloquin, who will be pursuing a law degree at Rutgers-Newark, earned a bachelor of arts with honors in biology from Amherst in 2002 and completed a master of arts in public policy at Trinity in 2005. She also will serve as an assistant for women’s volleyball during the fall semester.