Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
WAYNE , N.J.... The College of New Jersey softball team split a doubleheader at William Paterson on Monday as the Lions fell in the first game, 8-1, and bounced back for an 8-0, six-inning victory during the second contest.
The Lions are now 17-13 overall and 6-4 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, while the Pioneers are 7-3 in the conference and 20-4 overall.
William Paterson 8, TCNJ 1
William Paterson scored three runs during both the first and the third innings to pull away from the Lions for an 8-1 victory.
It was the Lions who scored first during the day's opener, when Crystal Lee (Dover, N.J./Morris Knolls) led off with a slow roller to the pitcher's left, reaching first base before Ellen Seavers (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) doubled her in with a two-base knock to left-center field during the top of the first.
Freshman Raquel Roder (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) started things for the Pioneers in the bottom of the first with a one-out bunt single, followed by a Lindsey Nadolny (Belford, N.J./Middletown North) base hit just inside the bag at third base. Sophomore Jenna Vitale (Kenilworth, N.J./David Brearley) plated Roder with a single to center, and classmate Ashlie Gaynor (Berlin, N.J./Eastern) cleared the bases with another single, this one up the middle, for a 3-1 WP advantage.
With one out in the bottom of the third, Nadolny singled up the middle, and Vitale hit a ball to shortstop that Seavers threw to second base in an effort to get the lead runner but was too late, resulting in a fielder's choice and giving the Pioneers two baserunners. Zippler drove in a score with a double, Gaynor plated another run with a sacrifice fly, and sophomore Jillian Mulderig's (Sewell, N.J./Washington Twp.) base hit to shortstop sent Zippler home, making it a 6-1 score. William Paterson tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth when Vitale's single to center plated Roder and Reilly.
Vitale was 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Nadolny scored two runs and was 2-for-4 at the plate. Reilly had a double as part of a 2-for-4 effort.
Lee and Seavers each had two hits for TCNJ.
Freshman Michelle Graham (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) allowed eight hits and one run over 7.0 innings, striking out three hitters to improve to 8-2. Junior Ashley Minervini (Cliffside Park, N.J./Cliffside Park) started inside the circle for the Lions and gave up six runs on six hits in 2.1 innings (6-7).
TCNJ 8, William Paterson 0
Freshman Lauren Fitzsimmons (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) pitched 6.0 scoreless innings and struck out six Pioneers while allowing just three hits, improving to 8-3 this season for TCNJ in an 8-0, six-inning win.
Sophomore Colleen Cawley (Riverton, N.J./Holy Cross) struck out, but safely reached first base on the third-strike wild pitch, and the during the very next at-bat Seavers bombed a home run over the left-center field fence, staking the Lions to a 2-0 first-inning lead.
A one-out error allowed Caitlyn Seamster (Edison, N.J./John P. Stevens) to get on base during the bottom of the fourth, and the Lions took advantage, pushing across two runs during the inning. Freshman Katelyn Congilose (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) singled down the left-field line, and senior Kelly Armstrong (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) had a base hit to center, scoring pinch runner Jamie Mastrioanni (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central). Lee's base hit through the right side of the infield later drove in Congilose, handing TCNJ a 4-0 advantage.
The Lions used two singles, a sacrifice bunt and a groundout to manufacture one fifth-inning score and pull ahead, 5-0. TCNJ then crossed the plate three times in the bottom of the sixth. Lee drove in a run with a double, Cawley plated another with a single to right field, and she later scored the final run after a throw to second on a first-and-third steal play went into center field, allowing Cawley to scamper home from third base.
Seavers went 3-for-3, driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice. Lee was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored.
Reilly led the Pioneers' offense with a 2-for-3 effort, including a double, and a stolen base.
Vitale fell to 5-2 after allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits during 5.0 innings inside the circle.
William Paterson will play a doubleheader at Montclair State Tuesday, April 14, at 3 p.m. TCNJ will host Rutgers-Camden April 14 for a twin bill to also begin at 3 p.m.
