Senior Insert

Ewing, NJ… Junior Deanna Utter (Byram, NJ/Lenape Valley) hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie as The College of New Jersey softball team came back to win the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday and earn a split with the 24^th-ranked Cougars.
 
Kean won the opener 3-0 with the Lions coming back to take the second game by the score of 3-2.
 
Following the split, TCNJ is 17-7 overall and 10-4 against New Jersey Athletic Conference opponents. Kean reached the 20-win plateau in the opener as they are 20-8-1 overall and 8-5-1 in the league.
 
Following the doubleheader, the Lions honored seniors Lauren Aspiazu (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls) and Kali Cipolla (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) for their hard word, dedication and leadership to the program in a brief ceremony.
 
TCNJ is home for a single game on Sunday, April 19 against Muhlenberg College, while the Cougars host Stockton University for a NJAC doubleheader on April 21.
 
Game 1
#24 Kean University 3, The College of New Jersey 0
Courtney Yard notched her 14^th win of the season with a dominant performance in the opener. The senior right-hander struck out nine and scattered five for her 15^th complete game and sixth shutout.
 
The Cougars tallied a pair of runs in the first. Katie Garbarino lined a bases loaded, two-out single to left-center to drive in Emily Sabo and Emily Bissonette to take command early on.
 
Yard cruised through the first four innings. She allowed a pair of walks in the third, but retired the side in order in the first, second and fourth. A base hit with one out in the fifth by Lions' right fielder Kristen Fitzsimmons (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) broke up the no-hit bid by Yard.
 
TCNJ had its best chance to score in the sixth. They strung together three singles with the first coming off the bat of freshman Madison Levine (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills). Utter followed with a sharp single back through the box and rookie Jess Stevenson (Belmar, NJ/Red Bank Regional) drove a base hit through the shortstop. That loaded the bases, but Yard got the next two hitters on a fly ball and strikeout to end the threat and maintain the shutout.
 
Freshman Bria Bartsch (Montville, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic Academy) singled up the middle with two outs in the seventh, but Yard the final out on a comebacker.
 
Junior Ashtin Helmer (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) went all seven innings on the mound for the Lions. She was touched for three runs (all unearned), struck out five and walked one.
 
Game 2
The College of New Jersey 3, #24 Kean University 2
The Lions scored the game's final three runs to pull out the split with Kean.
 
The Cougars plated a pair of unearned runs in the first inning as Yard had a two-run single to put the guests in front 2-0.
 
TCNJ got one run back in its half of the inning when Levine scored on a Kean error.
 
The hosts tied the game in the last of the fifth when Bartsch delivered a key two-out single that brought in Steph Vuono (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern). Vuono scored from second on the play after starting the inning with a walk.
 
Utter then broke the deadlock in the bottom of the sixth with a solo blast to center field with one out. It was her team-leading fifth homer of the season and also extended her hitting streak to nine game.
 
Junior Katie Hourihan (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) tossed a complete game for the Lions, scattering seven hits and both of the runs she allowed were unearned. The win was her eighth of the season, which leads the team.
 
Yard finished with her second complete game of the day in the second, but took the loss for the Cougars. She gave up those three runs on just three hits and struck out four.
 
Freshman Brooke Ennis had a pair of hits for Kean in the second game.