Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Glassboro, NJ... Needing to win both games against Kean University to secure the New Jersey Athletic Conference softball crown, The College of New Jersey's bid for that title came up one run short as the Lions dropped the championship contest 2-1 in eight innings on Sunday.

Fifth-seeded TCNJ started the day with a 10-1 victory in five innings over the sixth-seeded Cougars forcing the final and deciding game, which was hosted by Rowan University.

With the win, Kean (16-25) successfully defended it 2010 title and earned an automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Division III Tournament. The Lions are 28-14 and now must wait until Monday when the field of the tournament is announced to see if they were awarded an at-large bid.

Game 1
The College of New Jersey 10, Kean University 1 (5 innings)
For the fourth straight game in the tournament the Lions got on the scoreboard early plating a pair of runs in the opening inning. Sophomore Kelly Hommen (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) drove in the game's initial run with a ground out, while Liz Huttner (Princeton Junction, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) dropped down a sacrifice bunt to score the other.

After the Cougars trimmed a run off of that margin in their half of the inning, TCNJ exploded for five more runs in the second inning needing only two clutch hits to bring those runs home. Hommen delivered a three-run double and Katelyn Congilose (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) accounted for the other two with a single.

The Lions put the game out of reach in the third as Michelle Casale (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) scored on an error and later in the inning Caitlyn Seamster (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) continued her torrid hot streak with a two-run homer to left making it 10-1. The home run was her second in as many days.

Those runs were plenty of support for pitcher Lauren Fitzsimmons's (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) as she went the distance to improve her record to 12-3 on the season. She allowed three hits over the five innings and struck out three.

Game 2
Kean University 2, The College of New Jersey 1 (8 innings)
Pitching took over in the second game as the game was scoreless for the first five innings before each team broke through with a run in the sixth.

The Cougars got a lead-off triple in the sixth and then used a sacrifice fly to forge a 1-0 lead, but the Lions fought back in the latter half of the inning to tie the score. Freshman Kristen Lake (Readington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) got a pinch-hit single to score Huttner setting the stages for extra innings.

Kean got the winning run in the eighth getting back-to-back doubles to produce the run.

Fitzsimmons was again strong on the mound throwing all eight innings. She allowed those two runs on six hits and struck out five.

Congilose, Hommen, and Huttner each recorded a pair of hits for the Lions.