EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ softball team swept New Jersey City at Dr. June Walker Field on Saturday afternoon on the strength of timely hitting and dominant pitching. It's a combination that's usually tough to beat, and the Lions used that combo effectively in dispatching the Gothic Knights in a pair of victories. The Lions won game one, 9-0, in five innings and game two, 12-1. The Lions served as the visitors as the games were originally scheduled for NJCU but were moved to TCNJ due to field conditions.
Game One: TCNJ 9, NJCU 0 (5 Innings)
TCNJ scored runs in all five innings that it came to the plate, and the Lions took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
Julia Mayernik doubled to left with one out, and she stole third after the second out. She scored from third on
Kayla Hillenbrand's RBI single to center.
The Lions added two more in the second inning thanks to another two-out base hit.
Lauren Conroy and
Camryn Davies each reached and were in scoring position after
Lindsay Zengel's sacrifice bunt. That set the table beautifully for
Kaci Neveling's two-out, two-run single to left. That made it 3-0 TCNJ.
NJCU had two runners reach after two outs in the bottom of the second, and that included the Gothic Knight's lone hit of the game. It was a seeing-eye single through the left side, and it didn't pose any additional issues after TCNJ starter
Ally Schlee retired the next hitter on a groundout.
Schlee was excellent, allowing just the one hit and a walk while fanning four in the five-inning contest.
TCNJ added another run in the third when Jacyn Carifi stole third and scored on the overthrow to push the advantage to 4-0. In the fourth, Zengel led off with an infield hit, and she later scored on a sacrifice fly by Neveling. Later in the inning, Mayernik pounded a 2-0 pitch deep to left for a solo homer to make it 6-0.
The Lions pushed the game into mercy-rule territory with a three-run fifth inning. McKayla Yard led off with a homer of her own to make it 7-0, and Davies followed by scoring on Neveling's single after reaching on a bunt single of her own. TCNJ capped the scoring on Julia Kinally's RBI single to score Neveling.
Mayernik was 2-for-4 with the two extra-base hits. Neveling and Hillenbrand also had two hits each. Neveling had three RBIs to lead the club.
Game Two: TCNJ 12, NJCU 1
The Lions scored four runs in the top of the first inning to remove the drama early in game two. Each of the first six Lions to come to the plate reached base, and that included five singles and a walk. Standing at second, Neveling raced home on a Davies bunt single, never stopping as she rounded third to score the first run for TCNJ.
Hillenbrand followed with an RBI single to score Davies two hitters later to make it 2-0. In between those two hits, Mayernik delivered a base hit, and she scored along with Kinally on Carifi's infield single. That capped the four-run first inning.
In the second, Davies served as the fulcrum of the frame with a bunt single that allowed Neveling to score, and she later scored in the inning on Hillenbrand's groundout. Mayernik doubled Davies to third, allowing her to score on the ground ball.
TCNJ added solo scores in each of the third and fourth innings to push the lead to 8-0. In the third, Conroy led off with a double, and she later scored on a double steal. In the fourth,
Alexis Rizzo singled and later scored on Hillenbrand's single to make it 8-0.
NJCU avoided the mercy rule with a run in the top of the fifth, but the Lions added even more insurance in the top of the seventh when Yard hit her second homer in as many games with a massive three-run homer right over the foul pole in left.
Rizzo followed with an RBI single to score Neveling, who beat out an infield hit to shortstop.
The Lions rattled off 18 hits and had seven players with multiple hits. Neveling led that charge with three hits and three runs scored.
The Lions host No. 18 Rowan on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. for a big NJAC doubleheader.
