EWING, N.J. – On Saturday, the TCNJ softball team returned to Dr. June Walker Field for the first home games in 693 days. The Lions celebrated the homecoming in style with a doubleheader sweep over Ramapo. The Lions took game one by a final score of 7-2, then completed the sweep in game two, 8-0.  The games also marked the NJAC opener for both teams.

Game One:
The Lions got on the board right away with a pair of runs in the first inning. After the Lions loaded the bases, Julia Mayernik drove in the first run of the day with an RBI single to shortstop. Two batters later, Kayla Hillenbrand worked a bases-loaded walk to make it a 2-0 ballgame.

A sacrifice fly off the bat of Jaclyn Carifi pushed the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning. In the third inning, the Lions continued the offensive attack to double the advantage. Singles from Mayernik and Julia Vardiman got the rally going.

With two outs, Kaitlin Kocinski delivered a clutch RBI single that scored Mayernik. The next batter was Julia Kinnally, who laced a two-RBI gap double that gave the Lions a 6-0 advantage. Kinnally went 2-3 in game one with the two RBIs and a run scored.

Ally Schlee limited the Roadrunners' offense in the circle. The sophomore pitcher allowed only two runs in six innings pitched. Ramapo drew the first run off Schlee in the fourth, however it was quickly negated by the TCNJ offense. Allie Immerso knocked in a run with an RBI single to make it a 7-1 lead.

Ramapo drew to within 7-2 after the sixth inning, then the Roadrunners mounted a bit of a threat in the seventh with two singles to begin the inning. Alanna Namit came on in relief of Schlee and put a halt to the scoring chance. Namit racked up three-straight strikeouts to seal the win for the Lions.

Schlee earned her first career victory with today's win. She struck out seven batters and allowed six hits. Kaci Neveling went 3-4 with a run scored, while Mayernik went 2-3 with a run scored.

Game Two:
In game two, TCNJ jumped on Ramapo once again with four runs in the first inning. After Neveling worked a leadoff walk, Carifi laid down a sacrifice bunt. The throw from the third baseman was offline, and Neveling came all the way around to score from first.

With the bases loaded, Mayernik laced an RBI single to right center field. Lauren Conroy raced home on a passed ball to make it a 3-0 advantage, then an RBI groundout from Vardiman pushed the lead to 4-0.

The early lead proved to be more than enough for Gillian Roberts in the circle. The sophomore pitcher recorded her first career win and threw a complete game shutout. Roberts surrendered only three hits on the afternoon.

TCNJ pushed over three more runs in the fourth inning. Kocinski stole second, then Alexis Rizzo took home on the throw. The next batter was Immerso, who ripped an RBI double into the left field corner to stretch the edge to 7-0. Kocinski finished the game with an RBI single through the right side in the fifth inning. She went 2-2 in game two.

The Lions will return to the diamond on April 6 to face Stockton in a home doubleheader.