MAHWAH, N.J. – Ally Schlee's latest gem and a trademark clutch hit by
Lauren Conroy were just enough to push the TCNJ softball team past Ramapo, 1-0, in the opening round of the NJAC Championship Tournament on Tuesday.
Schlee tossed a 1-hitter, allowing only a bunt single, and Conroy scored
Kaci Neveling with the game's lone run on a sixth-inning RBI single to help the fourth-seeded Lions (26-8) avenge a sweep on the same field just three days prior. The victory sends TCNJ into the winner's round of the double-elimination tournament, where the Lions will meet second-seeded Kean on Friday. The Cougars downed Stockton, 9-1, on Tuesday.
Unlike on Saturday, when the Roadrunners struck quickly for three first-inning runs before Schlee recorded an out, the Lions' ace was in control from the outset. She allowed just the lone bunt single in the third to match Ramapo's Mahogany Wheeler pitch-for-pitch.
In a matchup of two of the league's top offenses, the brilliance of Schlee and Wheeler won out, and five innings passed with just a solitary hit for each side.
TCNJ finally broke through in the sixth, when a leadoff walk to Neveling paved the way for the game's lone run. The junior speedster swiped second base and, after a failed bunt attempt, dashed home to score on Conroy's clutch hit. It was all Schlee needed.
The right-hander, faced with the pressure of keeping the Roadrunners at bay for another two innings, came up with the goods. She struck out Alexis Corra to open the bottom of the seventh, then induced back-to-back fly-outs to
Jaclyn Carifi in center field to end it and start the Lions' championship defense on the right foot.
Schlee was tagged for seven runs – a season high – and nine hits in Saturday's 7-3 Game 1 loss. This time her adjustments paid off, and the star hurler surrendered only a walk and a hit, needing just 73 pitches to cut through the Ramapo lineup.
After stranding runners on the corners in the bottom of the third, Schlee retired the final 13 Roadrunner batters.
TCNJ now braces for a trip to Kean, where the rest of the tournament will be held. The Lions and Cougars split their regular-season series.
