Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Wayne, NJ... Heading into Saturday's doubleheader at William Paterson University, The College of New Jersey softball team needed just one win to clinch a home game in the 2013 New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament. The Lions did just that getting the win out of the way quickly taking the opening contest over the Pioneers, while the hosts claimed a split with a 7-3 victory in the second game.
The tournament will start on Tuesday, April 30 with the top three teams hosting first-round games. TCNJ (25-11, 12-6) is seeded third and will host fourth-seeded Richard Stockton (30-9, 11-7). Rowan University won the regular season and will host the weekend portion of the tournament, while Montclair State University is second.
TCNJ's tournament game will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at Dr. June Walker Field. The Lions took both games from the Ospreys during the regular season in Galloway, winning 1-0 and 7-2.
Game 1
TCNJ 2, William Paterson 1
Freshman pitcher
Ashtin Helmer (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) tossed a three-hitter as the Lions clinched a home game in the NJAC Tournament. She allowed only the one run on three hits and fanned four. The win improved her record to 15-3.
The Lions opened the scoring in the first as senior
Michelle Casale (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) got aboard with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by junior
Lindsay Williams (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury).
After the Pioneers tied the game in the second, TCNJ plated the deciding run in the fourth when freshman
Deanna Utter (Byram, NJ/Lenape Valley) earned a walk and scored three batters later when senior
Liz Huttner (Princeton Junction, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) hit into a fielder's choice.
Casale finished the game with a pair of hits for the Lions.
Game 2
William Paterson 7, TCNJ 3
The Lions opened the scoring in the second inning when freshman
Jamie Purcell (Nutley, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic Academy) plated pinch-runner Corinne
Minicozzi (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne) with an infield hit.
The Pioneers countered with a five-run bottom half of the inning, but only one of those runs was earned.
TCNJ got one of those runs back in the fourth when freshman
Kristen Fitzsimmons (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) drove in Williams with a base hit making it 5-2 contest.
William Paterson got that run right back in the bottom of the inning, but the Lions continued to fight back. In the fifth, Williams drove in Casale with base hit to left bringing the deficit back to three runs.
The Pioneers added a final run in the bottom of the fifth to cap the scoring.
Casale again finished with a pair of hits for the Lions, as did Williams.
