GREENSBORO, N.C. – The TCNJ softball team split a pair of games on its opening day Sunday, toppling host Greensboro, 6-2, before conceding a 2-0 pitchers' duel to Roanoke in the nightcap.
GAME 1: TCNJ 6, Greensboro 2
The game turned in the second inning, when the Lions capitalized on a trio of ill-timed errors by the home side. With two outs and the bases empty,
Camryn Kitchin reached on an error and stole second, then came around to score the game's first run on an RBI single by
Sara Vincent.
Vincent went all the way to third as the Greensboro outfield misplayed the ball, and
Gianna Vazquez was plunked by a pitch to put two on for
Kaci Neveling, who delivered a two-run double to the gap in left-center to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Pride pulled one back in the bottom of the third, but
Maya Knasiak continued to skirt danger. Greensboro was just 2-for-15 with runners on base and stranded a runner in scoring position in five consecutive innings to close the game.
Greensboro (2-3) made it 3-2 on a 2-out RBI double in the sixth, but Knasiak retired the next hitter on a flyout to preserve the lead. TCNJ put the game away in the top of the seventh as
Sara Vincent led off with a single, went to second on a sacrifice by
Gianna Vazquez, and scored on Neveling's second two-bagger of the afternoon.
Olivia Santos followed with her first RBI as a Lion, driving in Neveling with a double of her own, and
Julia Kinnally added an insurance tally with an RBI single to make it 6-2. The hosts got a runner to second in the bottom half, but Knasiak's seventh strikeout finished off the lid-lifter.
Neveling finished 2-for-4 with the two doubles and three RBIs, while Santos (2-for-4, run, RBI) and Vincent (2-for-3, run, RBI) also posted multi-hit games.
Knasiak earned the win, scattering eight hits and a pair of walks with seven strikeouts.
GAME 2: Roanoke 2, TCNJ 0
In a rematch of an NCAA Regional matchup in 2022, the Lions managed just two hits against the Maroons, who broke open a scoreless deadlock with two runs in the top of the sixth.
Elizabeth Gosse was dialed in for the first five innings, working out of a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth and taking a shutout into the sixth. That's when Roanoke scored the game's lone runs, starting with a one-out RBI triple by Madison Courts. Another run came home on an error and chased Gosse from the game.
The Lions put a runner on base in each of the last two innings, including a leadoff hit-by-pitch in the seventh, but Roanoke's closer struck out three in a row to end it.
Neveling and Kitchin had the lone hits for TCNJ, while Gosse struck out five in 5.2 strong innings.
Sairah Llano came on in relief and retired all five batters she faced in her collegiate debut.
UP NEXT
- The Lions head to DeSales for a non-conference matchup on Sunday, March 2
