EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ softball team swept the doubleheader against Stockton on Tuesday. The Lions captured a 9-5 victory in game one, then finished the sweep with a 5-1 victory in game two. TCNJ improves to 5-1 on the year including 4-0 in NJAC action.
Game One:
After the Ospreys grabbed a run in the first inning, TCNJ bounced right back with five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Leadoff hitter
Kaci Neveling tripled then scored after
Allie Immerso stole second and drew the throw.
Julia Mayernik knocked Immerso in with an RBI double, then
Lauren Conroy ripped a opposite-field home run to left field to make it a 4-1 lead. The homer marks the ninth of her career. TCNJ capped off the scoring when
Julia Vardiman scored on an error.
Stockton drew to within 5-4 by way of a Jenna Patterson three-run home run in the top of the third inning. Once again, the Lions had the answer in the bottom frame.
Julia Kinnally ripped her first career home run, a solo shot to left, to get the run back and put TCNJ ahead, 6-4.
TCNJ's resiliency continued when the Lions countered another Stockton run in the fourth inning. Kinnally delivered an RBI base hit through the left side, then Vardiman drove in an RBI single to put the Lions ahead, 8-5. Neveling scored on an error in the fifth inning for TCNJ's last run of game one.
Ally Schlee pitched a complete game to earn her second win of the season. She struck out six batters while walking only one.
Conroy led the offensive attack with a 3-4 game, including two RBIs and two runs scored. Neveling, Mayernik, Kinnally, and Vardiman all recorded two hits.
Game Two:
While game one featured 14 total runs and 18 total hits, game two turned out to be the opposite, a low-scoring affair with both pitchers controlling the game.
Alanna Namit threw the complete game in the circle for the Lions. The only run that Stockton scored was unearned. Namit tallied five punch-outs in the victory, her second of the campaign, and surrendered only a pair of hits.
TCNJ broke through in the fourth inning when
Kayla Hillenbrand delivered an RBI groundout that scored Mayernik. The Ospreys drew even in the fifth inning, yet the Lions had the answer in the bottom half of the inning once again.
Conroy continued her hot hitting with an RBI single to center field that pushed TCNJ ahead. The clutch hit came from Mayernik in the sixth inning. Mayernik, the NJAC Rookie of the Week, delivered a bases-clearing three-RBI double with two outs to give TCNJ a 5-1 advantage. Namit worked around a walk in the top of the seventh to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Mayernik paced the bats with a 2-3 game including the three RBIs. Mayernik, Neveling, Conroy, and Kinnally all recorded multi-hit games in game two.
The Lions will return to action at Kean on April 10.
