Ewing, NJ... Visiting SUNY Cortland spoiled the home opener for The College of New Jersey softball team as the Red Dragons took both ends of a doubleheader from the Lions on Saturday. The Red Dragons won the first game 6-2 and then took the second, 9-1 in five innings.
 
TCNJ is now 9-7 on the season, while 17^th-ranked Cortland is 10-4.
 
The Lions are right back on the field on Sunday, March 25 with a doubleheader at Franklin & Marshall College, while the Red Dragons are at Nazareth College on Tuesday, March 27 for a pair of games.
 
Game One
SUNY Cortland 6, TCNJ 2
The Red Dragons scored the game's final six runs as the visitors won the opening game.
 
The Lions got off to a good start scoring in the bottom of the first as Michelle Casale (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) singled and scored two batters later on a base hit up the middle by Liz Huttner (Princeton Junction, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South).
 
That lead doubled in the third as senior Crystal Lee (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls) raced home on a squeeze attempt by Kelly Hommen (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood).
 
The Red Dragons tied things up in the top half of the fourth with a pair of runs with both of them being brought home on a double by Cassie Kardias (Shrub Oak, NY/Lakeland).
 
Cortland took the lead in the fifth as Lorriane Stoddard (Liverpool, NJ/Liverpool) scored on a Lion error.
 
Kardias made it 5-2 in the fifth with another run-scoring double and the Red Dragons added two more runs in the seventh to close out the scoring.
 
Huttner finished the game going 2-for-3.
 
For Cortland, Kardias had a pair of doubles with three RBI, while Abby Martin (Oswego, NY/Oswego) had a pair of hits, including a RBI triple.
 
Game Two
SUNY Cortland 9, TCNJ 1
The Red Dragons jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after a half inning of play as they collected five hits in the inning.
 
Like the opening game, the Lions also scored in the first as Lee walked and Huttner delivered with another key hit driving in a run.
 
Cortland came back with two more runs in the second and then Martin, who earned the win on the mound, capped the scoring with a three-run home run in the fifth.
 
Huttner had two hits for the fourth straight game and extended her hitting streak to 10 straight.
 
Kardias led Cortland with three hits and Martin had two hits, scored three times, and drove in three others.