Clermont, FL… The College New Jersey softball team kicked off its spring trip with a victory over Concordia University Wisconsin and then dropped a close game to SUNY Oneonta on Saturday.
 
The Lions (2-2) opened the trip with a 4-0 triumph against CUW as freshman pitcher Sam Platt (Cedar Grove, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic Academy) earned her first collegiate win with the shutout. TCNJ also played well in the second game of the day, but fell to the Red Dragons (8-3) by the score of 2-1.
 
The team is right back on the field for two more games on Sunday, March 15 when the take on UMass-Boston at 9 a.m. and Western Connecticut State University at 11 a.m.
 
TCNJ 4, Concordia University Wisconsin 0
Platt went the distance for the Lions as she earned her first win and shutout in the same outing. Platt allowed only two hits in seven innings and struck out four.
 
The Lions broke through for three runs in the third inning with freshman Bria Bartsch (Montville, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic Academy) driving in the game's first run. She belted a triple that easily scored sophomore Nerylix Cerda (North Bergen, NJ/High Tech). Bartsch then came home on a base hit by junior Kristen Fitzsimmons (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial). Fitzsimmons eventually came around to score later in the inning when sophomore Colleen Phelan (Tinton Falls, NJ/Monmouth Regional) singled, extending the lead to 3-0.
 
TCNJ tacked on one more run in the top of the seventh on a fielding error that allowed pinch-runner Morgan Gualtieri (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) to race home.
 
Bartsch and junior Jamie Purcell (Nutley/Mt. St. Dominic Academy) each had two hits in the victory, while freshman Madison Levine (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) added a double.
 
SUNY Oneonta 2, TCNJ 1
The Red Dragons scored a pair of runs in the opening inning and then held off the Lions in the final two frames.
 
In the sixth inning, TCNJ cut the margin in half when junior Deanna Utter (Byram, NJ/Lenape Valley Regional) plated Cerda with a base hit.
 
An inning later, Phelan was hit by a pitch and then moved into scoring position thanks to a successful sacrifice bunt by Levine, but Oneonta was able to record the final two out of the game without Phelan advancing any further.
 
Utter reached base in all three plate appearances, going 1-for-1 and also drawing a walk and being hit by a pitch.
 
Junior pitcher Ashtin Helmer (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) had a solid outing as she allowed only two unearned runs on four hits. She also struck out four.