Senior Day Insert
Ewing, NJ….The College of New Jersey softball team closed out the regular season on a winning note as the Lions earned a doubleheader sweep of New Jersey City University on Saturday, April 29 at Lions’ Park. TCNJ opened with 13-1 victory and then capped the day winning the second contest, 10-0 as both wins came in five innings.
Between games of the doubleheader, the Lions recognized seniors Kristin Meister (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge), Kelly Quigley (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton Lakes) and Laura Prevete (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) for their contributions to TCNJ’s program as part of “Senior Day.”
The two wins brought an end to the Lions’ six-game losing skid as they finish the regular season at 25-15 and 8-10 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Gothic Knights concluded their season with a record of 9-28 and 0-18 in the conference.
With those two wins, the Lions qualified for the NJAC Tournament as the sixth seed and will open the double-elimination tournament at top-seeded Rutgers-Camden on Tuesday, May 2. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
TCNJ 13, NJCU 1
Box score
In the opening game, the Lions jumped out to a big lead early scoring eight times in the bottom of the first. Quigley had one of the key hits in the inning driving in a pair of runs with a triple, while Jonna Mahalchik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) also brought home two runs with an extra-base hit. In all, the Lions sent 12 batters to the plate and with Mahalchik recording two hits in the inning.
The Gothic Knights plated their lone run of the game in the top of the second as Vanessa Nicolich (Cliffside Park, NJ/St. Mary’s-Rutherford) raced home on a wild pitch.
The runs continued to come for the Lions as Katie Davenport (River Edge, NJ/River Dell Regional) drove in a run in the second and came around to score on a base hit by Tara Harrigan (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert).
TCNJ tacked on two more runs in the third and Vicki Blevins (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township) capped the scoring in the fourth with a solo home run. The homer was her first of the season.
Heather Hoffman (Annandale, NJ/Immaculata) went the distance giving up just three hits to finish the season with a record of 14-6.
TCNJ 10, NJCU 0
Box score
Julianne Lajiness (Monroe Township, NJ/Notre Dame) benefited from TCNJ’s offense in the second game as she tossed her second shutout of the season scattering two hits with six strikeouts. The win was her eighth of the year.
The Lions again struck early as Harrigan doubled in a run and Blevins singled in another as they led 2-0 at the end of one inning of play.
Prevete chipped in with a RBI single in the second and in the third as Kristin Boyer (Annandale, NJ/North Hunterdon) tripled and later scored before Blevins scored later in the inning after reaching base via an error.
In the fourth, the Lions added three more runs to make it 8-0, TCNJ closed out the scoring in the top of the fifth as pinch-hitter Carlyn Perrotty (Boonton Township, NJ/Mountain Lakers) delivered a two-run double.
Nicolich and Andrea Delucrezia (Belleville, NJ/ St. Mary’s-Rutherford) each had a hit for NJCU.
