Ewing, NJ…The College of New Jersey softball team demonstrated why they earned the top seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament defeating William Paterson University 6-1 in the opening round Tuesday afternoon. The 25^th-ranked Lions are now 29-6 on the season, while the Pioneers fall to 23-14.
 
The Lions struck early as they have all season, Annalise Suitovsky (Warren Twp., NJ/Watchung Hills) and Megan Mayernik (Columbus, NJ/Northern Burlington) led off with back-to-back singles and would come around to score on productive outs later in the inning.
 
TCNJ would extend the lead in the third. Allie Immerso (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) led off the inning with a single. After a sacrifice bunt moved her into scoring position, Immerso moved to third on a third strike wild pitch beating the throw. Immerso's speed was on full display with the next pitch beating a throw to the plate on a squeeze play. The Lions would punish the Pioneers for the attempts on the runners, scoring runs on a Lauren Conroy (Aberdeen, NJ/Matawan Regional) single and Gaby Bennett (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) sacrifice fly. Conroy's single extended her hitting streak to 13 consecutive games.
 
The Pioneers began to rally in the fourth, scoring a run on a hit batter and two singles, but Alanna Namit (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston) shut down the inning with one of her six strikeouts to end the frame. Namit improved to 15-0 on the season with the win.
 
The Lions scored a final insurance run in the sixth on a combination of singles by Jess McGuire (Stockton, NJ/Hunterdon Central Regional), Kaitlin Kocinski (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery), and Immerso.
 
TCNJ would put on one final demonstration in the top of the seventh. The inning began with a chopper up the middle that Mayernik fielded behind the second base bag before making a strong throw to beat the runner. The next pitch was hit hard to the right side, but Madison Levine (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) made a diving stop to record the second out. Mayernik then fielded a ball in the hole at short at made another strong throw to end the game. The Lions currently own the nation's top fielding percentage at .985.
 
The Lions will play next Friday at 4:00 PM against Kean University. The remainder of the conference tournament will take place at Montclair State University.