Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey softball team needed extra innings to pull out a win over Haverford College in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, but the Fords came back to take the second as the teams split the twin bill.

TCNJ (6-2) won the opener 6-5 in eight innings and the Fords (7-5) avoided the sweep by claiming the second contest 7-3.

Game 1: TCNJ 6, Haverford 5 (8 innings)

Box Score

After holding Haverford off of the board in the top of the eighth, the Lions used a squeeze by Tara Harrigan (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) to score Alaine Boccafola (Wading River, NY/Shoreham Wading River) lifting the Lions to the win. Each team started the eighth inning with a runner on second base per the tiebreaker rule for extra innings.

The Lions got the early jump in the game plating a pair of runs in bottom of the first. Kristin Boyer (Annandale, NJ/North Hunterdon) received a lead-off walk and came around to score on a triple by Christina Lizzi (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo). Lizzi scored one batter later on a double by Jen Hughes (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) making it a 2-0 TCNJ lead.

TCNJ added a third run in the second as Lauren Musacchia (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) belted a solo home run to left center.

The Fords then used the long ball to make it a 3-2 game as freshman Cassandra Searls (Green Brook, NJ/Mount St. Mary Academy) hit a two-run homer in the top of the third. Haverford tied the game at three as Taylor Zavasky (Trumbell, CT/St. Joseph High) singled in a run.

The Lions retook the lead in the last of the fourth as Harrigan put down the first of her two squeeze bunts scoring Rachel Greeby (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury).

It didn’t take Haverford long to come back and take its first lead of the game with a pair of runs in the fifth Searls scored on a Lion miscue and Zavasky drove in a run with a single.

The Lions forced the extra inning with a run in the bottom of the sixth as Boyer drove in a run with a double plating Musacchia, who finished the game going 4-for-4 .

Freshman Ashley Minervini (Cliffside, NJ/Cliffside) tossed a complete game for the Lions with eight strikeouts and improved to 3-0 on the season.

Game 2: Haverford 7, TCNJ 3 Box Score
Haverford got on the board in the top of the first as Allison Frank (Chatham, NJ/Chatham) hit a solo homer to center, but TCNJ came right back in the latter half of the frame as Hughes singled home Boyer.

The Fords broke things open with two more runs in the second and then increased the advantage to 5-1 scoring twice more in the third.

TCNJ got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning as Hughes singled home Harrigan 5-2.

Harrigan was involved in the scoring for the Lions again in the fourth with a double scoring Jess Kohut (Hillsdale, NJ/Pascack Valley) cutting the deficit to 5-3.

Haverford added two more insurance runs in the fifth as Becky Garibotto (Edison, NJ/J.P. Stevens) went on to pick up the complete game on the mound.

Heather Hoffman (Annandale, NJ/Immaculatta) took the loss for the Lions going six innings before giving way to Kohut, who made a successful return to the mound throwing a scoreless seventh inning. Kohut was hit by a line drive while pitching last season and missed a majority of the year.

The Lions will be right back in action on Sunday hosting Salisbury University for another doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.