MAHWAH, N.J. – The TCNJ softball team fell into early holes in both ends of Saturday's regular-season finales at Ramapo, making late pushes but ultimately falling short in a pair of NJAC setbacks.
Lindsay Zengel had a 4-for-6 afternoon for the Lions (25-8, 13-5), who dropped a 7-3 decision in Game 1 and a 5-2 final in the nightcap.
With the sweep, Ramapo (25-8, 14-4) leapfrogged TCNJ for third place in the NJAC standings and earned hosting rights for a rematch in the first round of the NJAC Championship Tournament on Tuesday. Rowan is the top seed and will host sixth-seeded Montclair State, while second-seeded Kean hosts fifth-seeded Stockton. The tournament shifts to Kean after the first-round contests.
Game 1: Ramapo 7, TCNJ 3
Ally Schlee ran into trouble right away, hitting the leadoff batter before three consecutive hits – one of which featured an error – had the Roadrunners racing out to a 3-0 lead before the Lions had recorded an out.
Ramapo added on in the second, with a walk and back-to-back singles helping to expand the margin to 5-0.
The score stayed there until the fifth, when TCNJ's dormant offense awoke. Held hitless through four, the Lions got to Ramapo starter Mahogany Wheeler with a leadoff double by
Julia Mayernik and a base hit by
Kayla Hillenbrand. Two batters later,
Victoria Aspiazu put the visitors on the board with an RBI single.
After a base hit by
Julia Kinnally loaded the bases,
Lindsay Zengel put an RBI single into center field to make it 5-2 and re-pack the sacks. TCNJ got another run when the Roadrunner catcher dropped a force play at home, trimming the margin to 5-3. Wheeler, however, managed to escape further damage with a strikeout and a pop-out.
Ramapo put two insurance runs on the board in the sixth, and the Lions were unable to threaten again.
Zengel finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and was the only TCNJ player with more than one hit.
Schlee surrendered a season-high seven runs on nine hits in suffering her first loss of the spring. She walked two and struck out four over six innings.
Krista Verrino, Carli Egan, and Alexis Corra combined to go 6-for-9 with four runs scored and five RBIs in the 1-2-3 spots in the Ramapo lineup.
Game 2: Ramapo 5, TCNJ 2
The top of the Ramapo lineup continued to exact damage in the nightcap. Another hit-by-pitch and a walk put the first two aboard for Corra, who cleared the bases with a three-run homer to put the Lions in another early 3-0 hole.
Once again, it was the fifth inning when TCNJ came alive. Trailing 4-0,
Lauren Conroy delivered a clutch two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded to halve the deficit down to 4-2.
Unfortunately, the Roadrunners got one back in the sixth to go up 5-2, and the Lions managed only a Zengel single in the seventh.
Conroy and Zengel each finished 2-for-3, giving Zengel a four-hit afternoon.
Marina Costello turned in a solid outing in relief of starter
Julia Roessler, conceding two runs on three hits over four innings.
TCNJ heads right back to Mahwah on Tuesday for a rematch with Ramapo in the first round of the NJAC Championship Tournament.
