Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Ewing, NJ...The College of New Jersey softball team picked up two more wins on Saturday as the Lions took a doubleheader from William Paterson University and solidify its hold of first place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference standings.
The Lions won the opener 3-0 and then took the second by the score 7-1.
TCNJ, which is ranked ninth in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association, is now 23-5 on the season and 9-1 in conference play and lead the conference with 18 points.
William Paterson is and even 5-5 in the NJAC and 20-9-1 overall.
Conference play continues for both teams on Tuesday as the Lions head to Rutgers University-Camden for a pair of games and the Pioneers return home for a doubleheader with Montclair State University.
Game 1
TCNJ 3, William Paterson 0
Senior Ashley Minervini (Cliffside Park, NJ/Cliffside Park) tossed a five-hit shutout to guide the Lions to the win in the opener. She finished with five strikeouts and didn't issue a walk in picking up her 10th win of the season.
The Lions grabbed the early lead with a run in the first as Ashley Sogluizzo (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) got on board with a single and later scored on a base hit by senior Ellen Seavers (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood).
TCNJ's other run came in the fifth as sophomore Crystal Lee (Dover, NJ/Morris Knolls) hit an inside-the-park home run to centerfield making it a 2-0 game.
The final run of the game came in the last of the sixth as senior Dani Hagel (Egg Harbor City, NJ/Oakcrest) plated Michelle Casale (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) with a ground out.
Freshman Kelly Hommen (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) had a good game at the plate for the Lions drilling a pair of doubles in three trips to the plate.
At the plate for the Pioneers, senior Lacey Santone (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) went 2-for-3 with both hits being doubles.
Game 2
TCNJ 7, William Paterson 1
The Lions completed the sweep getting a number of timely hits starting with a RBI single by Michelle Kent (Sparta, NJ/Pope John) in the second inning.
TCNJ tacked on two more runs in the third as Hommen plated a run with a base hit and Sogluizzo scored on a Pioneer miscue.
The Lions struck for two more runs in the fourth with Lee driving in the first with a triple and scoring one batter later as Sogluizzo singled.
In the fifth, Kent again came through as she singled in Hagel, who doubled earlier in the inning extending TCNJ's advantage to 6-0.
Katelyn Congilose (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) plated the final run for the Lions in the seventh with a double increasing the lead to 7-0.
The Pioneers spoiled the shutout bid in the last of the seventh as Heather Mendez (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) doubled down the left-field line scoring Lindsey Nadolny (Belford, NJ/Middletown North).
Those seven runs were more than enough for pitcher Lauren Fitzsimmons (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) as she picked up her conference leading 13th win of the season. She allowed four hits and struck out five.
Lee finished with three hits for TCNJ, while Kent and Congilose each had a pair.
For WPU, Christina Zippler (Blackwood, NJ/Washington Twp.) tripled, while Nicole Jimmerson (North Bergen, N J/High Tech), Raquel Roder (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken), and Mendez added doubles.
