VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. – Despite a late rally to tie the game, the No. 18 TCNJ Softball team saw their spectacular 2023 season end against No. 13 Virginia Wesleyan in the 'Winner-take-All' Regional Title game on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions (32-11) kept their season alive in the first elimination game of the day after making a huge comeback to force the 'Winner-take-All' game. In the second game, TCNJ once again rallied back after stringing together clutch hits in the bottom of the sixth, but ultimately couldn't hold off a Marlins response in the top of the seventh to bow out of the NCAA Tournament in heartbreaking fashion.
For their spectacular regionals tournament performance, the trio of
Jaclyn Carifi,
Julia Kinnally and
Julia Mayernik were all named to the Regional All-Tournament team.
GAME ONE (TCNJ 7, Virginia Wesleyan 4 - FINAL)
The Marlins struck first in the bottom of the first by scoring the first two runs of the game.
The top of the third saw the Lions cut their deficit in half after
Kaci Neveling drove in
Camryn Davies from second on a single to right field. Davies reached base after a hard-fought 10 pitch double with two outs to keep the Lions offense alive in the inning, and effectively shifting the moment of the game for the Lions.
TCNJ took the lead in the top of the fourth after consecutive RBI groundouts from
Alexis Rizzo and
Reina Jeronimo drove in
Julia Kinnally and
Julia Mayernik. Kinnally led off the inning with a single through the right infield gap before Mayernik recorded a hit to the exact same spot to put two in scoring position.
The blue and gold broke the game open in the fifth, going up 7-2 after dropping four more runs. The Lions loaded the bases early after three straight singles by Davies, Neveling and
Jaclyn Carifi with one out. Stepping up to the plate, Kinnally immediately hit a single to centerfield to drive in Davies. Mayernik followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Neveling. Senior
Alexis Rizzo landed the back breaking single through the middle of the infield to score both Carifi and Mayernik.
The Marlins attempted to make things interesting after scoring two in the bottom half of the inning to cut the Lions' lead down to 7-4. However, it proved too little too late as TCNJ held on for the huge elimination game victory to force a 'Winner-take-All' second game of the day later in the afternoon.
In relief, senior
Ally Schlee had a superb performance on the mound that saw her concede just one earned run in the final 5.2 innings of the game and striking out four batters.
Neveling led the offense with three hits, while Kinnally and Davies each had a two-hit game.
GAME TWO (Virginia Wesleyan 6, TCNJ 2 - FINAL)
With both teams playing for the right to advance onto the Super Regionals round, offense proved tough to come by as superb pitching and big defensive plays from both sides kept the game scoreless through the first three innings.
However, the Marlins struck first once again by scoring two runs in the top of the fourth, forcing the Lions to rally once again to keep their season alive.
Despite putting runners on base in the bottom of the fourth and fifth, the Lions' comeback bid finally came to fruition in the sixth after the offense strung together multiple clutch plays while capitalizing on Virginia Wesleyan defensive mistakes to tie the game at two apiece.
With the top of their lineup coming up to the plate, TCNJ quickly put the tying runs on base as Neveling and Carifi each successfully reached. During Kinnally's at bat, Neveling was able to score after a careless throw down attempt was made from the Marlins' catcher on a Carifi stolen base attempt. Carifi would advance to third on a groundout, before Mayernik sent a deep sacrifice fly to left field that allowed the senior centerfielder to slide home safely and tie the game.
However, the Marlins responded in the top of the seventh with a massive four-run inning that was capitalized by a heartbreaking three-run home run which effectively ended the blue and gold's season.
