CAMDEN, N.J. – The TCNJ softball team split a pair of closely-contested games in the doubleheader against Rutgers-Camden on Tuesday. The Lions dropped a low-scoring 2-1 final in game one, then bounced back to take game two, 5-0. TCNJ's record now stands at 8-2 on the year including 7-1 in NJAC play, while Rutgers-Camden is now 5-5 and 5-3 in conference action.
Game One:
The Scarlet Raptors snatched an early lead with a run in the first inning. In the third inning, Rutgers-Camden pushed across another run to take a 2-0 advantage.
Sarah Byrnes of Rutgers-Camden was effective against the Lions' bats, keeping TCNJ off the scoreboard until the fifth inning.
Jaclyn Carifi reached third on an outfield error to lead off the inning. Two batters later,
Katie Winchock put the ball in play and reached on an error, and Carifi came around to score to trim the lead to 2-1.
Eliza Sweet took a tough loss in game one. She went 4.1 innings and struck out four batters while only walking one.
Ally Schlee threw 1.2 innings in relief and did not allow a baserunner.
In the seventh inning,
Lindsay Zengel legged out an infield hit to shortstop to get the tying run on base, however Byrnes denied the scoring opportunity to seal the win for the Scarlet Raptors.
Game Two:
Game two was a pitcher's dual that remained scoreless until the top of the sixth inning, when the Lions broke through for five runs. In the circle for TCNJ was
Alanna Namit, who pitched a complete game shutout. Namit has allowed only two earned runs this season and owns an earned run average of 0.52. In today's win, Namit struck out six batters while only giving up three hits.
Julia Kinnally began the rally in the sixth inning with a double. A Carifi infield single loaded the bases, then TCNJ scored two straight runs on errors. The carousel continued when
Kaci Neveling drove in Carifi with an RBI groundout.
A two-run single from
Lauren Conroy finished the rally and gave TCNJ a 5-0 lead. Five runs proved to be more than enough run support for Namit, who completed the gem in the final two innings.
Next up for TCNJ is a home doubleheader against Montclair State on April 17.
