Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey softball team dropped a pair of one-run decisions to William Paterson University as the Lions closed out the season on Saturday.
 
The Pioneers rallied in both games coming away with a 2-1 win in the opener and then scored twice in the seventh to pull out a 3-2 victory in the second.
 
The game marked the final home game for five seniors and that group was recognized in a brief ceremony. Taking the field at Dr. June Walker Field for the final time were Nicole Brodbeck (Atco, NJ/Hammonton), Alex Carisone (Branchburg, NJ/Rutgers Prep), Kristen Lake (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central), Corinne Minicozzi (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne), and senior Lindsay Williams (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury).
 
The Lions finished the season at 10-24 and 4-14 in the conference, while the Pioneers moved to 29-7 and 15-3 in the NJAC.
 
Game 1
#21 William Paterson University 2, The College of New Jersey 1
The Lions took the lead in the opening game with a run in the fourth inning, but the Pioneers countered with two runs in the fifth to account for all of the scoring.
 
TCNJ got on the board when freshman Colleen Phelan (Tinton Falls, NJ/Monmouth Regional) led off with a double and later scored on a RBI single by sophomore Jamie Purcell (Nutley, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic Academy).
 
WPU tied the game in the fifth when Tracy Geller (Commack, NY/Commack) tied the game with a base hit and Nicole Fryer (East Stroudsburg, PA/East Stroudsburg South) forced in the deciding run when she walked with the bases loaded.
 
Pioneer pitcher Allison Podmajersky (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown South) earned the win on the mound allowing just that one run on four hits.
 
Carisone pitched well without getting the result she was looking for, scattering five hits and fanning four.
Purcell finished with two hits for the Lions and Rachel Wasilak (Livingston, NJ/Livingston) had a pair for William Paterson.
 
Game 2
#21 Williams Paterson University 3, The College of New Jersey 2
The Pioneers scored twice in the top of the seventh to rally for a 3-2 in the second game. The first of those runs came on a run-scoring double Fryer and the second came on a base hit by Kim Fryer (East Stroudsburg, PA/East Stroudsburg South).
 
The Lions did get the tying run to second base in the bottom of the inning when Christine Desiderio (Babylon, NY/Babylon) singled and reach second on an error, but WPU retired the next three batters in order to claim the win.
 
Williams continued her power surge at the plate in the second game as she gave TCNJ a 1-0 lead in the third inning with a solo home run to the gap in left. That home run was her fourth in the last six games.
 
In the fifth, the Lions doubled that lead with Williams getting about with a hit to center field and then moved into scoring position with a steal of second. Freshman Jessica Kennick (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) then drove her in with a single to make it 2-0.
 
William Paterson trimmed a run off of that deficit in the top of the sixth with a RBI single off of the bat of Kristen Gardner (Audoubon, NJ/Audubon).
 
Podmajersky picked up the win in relief for the Pioneers.
 
Williams finished the game going 2-for-4 with a home run for the Lions.
 
At the plate for WPU, Kelsey Wimmershoff (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) reached base all four appearance going 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of walks.