Montclair, NJ… The College of New Jersey softball team moved into a first-place tie in the New Jersey Athletic Conference standings as the Lions posted a doubleheader sweep at Montclair State University on Friday.
 
The Lions won the opening game 3-2 and then pulled away for an 11-5 triumph in the nightcap.
 
TCNJ is now tied with Rowan University in for first in the conference with one day left in the regular season. The Lions (19-8, 12-4 NJAC), which have already locked up a spot in the NJAC Tournament, finish the season on Saturday with a twin bill at third place Ramapo College (22-11-1, 11-4-1 NJAC). Rowan (31-2, 12-4 NJAC) will host Rutgers-Newark tomorrow.
 
Junior Christine Desiderio (Babylon, NY/Babylon) had a huge afternoon for the Lions, going 5-for-7 with six runs batted in, two runs scored and a home run.
 
The two losses put the Red Hawks at 5-11 in league play and 13-19 overall.
 
Game 1
The College of New Jersey 3, Montclair State University 2
TCNJ plated a pair of runs in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and then held off a rally by the Red Hawks to pick up the important victory.
 
The Lions scored first in the opening game as junior Ashtin Helmer (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) walked and then came around to score on a double to left by Desiderio.
 
After Montclair State tied the game with a run in the fifth, TCNJ battled right back to reclaim the lead in the sixth. Helmer and Desiderio triggered the offense again as they each produced run-scoring singles to put the Lions in front 3-1.
 
The Red Hawks made it a 3-2 game in their half of the sixth, but freshman Sam Platt (Cedar Grove, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic) came in to pitch for Helmer and get TCNJ out of the inning still ahead by a run.
 
Platt then closed things out with a scoreless seventh for her team-leading fourth save of the season.
 
Helmer got the win for the Lions as she went 5.2 innings and recorded six strikeouts. It was her eighth victory of the season.
 
Desiderio finished the game going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs batted in.
 
Game 2
The College of New Jersey 11, Montclair State University 5
Once again the Lions broke loose in the sixth inning, this time scoring six runs to break open a one-run game.
 
TCNJ grabbed the early lead in game with two runs in the first, with Helmer using a fielder's choice to plate freshman Bria Bartsch (Montville, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic Academy). A throwing error by MSU allowed junior Deanna Utter (Byram, NJ/Lenape Valley) to race home for a 2-0 lead on that same play.
 
The Red Hawks tied the game in the third, but the Lions jumped back in front for good with a run in the fourth. That run came on a RBI single by Bartsch to score classmate Madison Levine (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills).
 
Holding a 3-2 lead in the sixth, TCNJ exploded for six runs to gain control of the game. Desiderio started the inning with a two-run double and junior Kristen Fitzsimmons (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) then added a single to make it 6-2. Freshman Jess Stevenson (Belmar, NJ/Red Bank Regional) capped the big inning with a three-run homer. It was her first collegiate home run.
 
Desiderio finished off her banner day at the plate in the seventh with a two-run inside-the-park home run.
 
Junior Katie Hourihan (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) went 6.1 innings to pick up her team-leading ninth victory of the season.
 
Desiderio went 3-for-4 with four RBI and scored twice in the second game, while Bartsch and Stevenson also finished with three hits each