ASTON, Pa. - The TCNJ softball team put on a showcase at the plate in its doubleheader against Neumann Wednesday afternoon, scoring a combined 24 runs in a pair of dominant wins in the Lions' final tune-up before this weekend's Margie Knight Classic.
 
GAME 1: TCNJ 15, Neumann 2
 
A late offensive outburst from the Lions (4-4) turned what was a two-score game after five into a 15-2, Game 1 win in which TCNJ outhit the Knights (0-12) 17-3.
 
The Lions wasted no time getting on the board in Wednesday's opener, with Kaci Neveling hitting her first of three doubles on the afternoon before the graduate student crossed home plate on a sac fly off the bat of Julia Kinnally.
 
After a quiet top of the second it was Neumann taking their lone lead of the day on a pair of RBIs from Tori Spinella and Kayla Naylor to jump in front 2-1. That advantage was short-lived, however, with the trio of Neveling, Ryleigh Manning and Kinnally striking again in the third to tie the score before Maya Knasiak helped herself with an RBI grounder to short that scored Manning and gave the Lions the lead for good.
 
An insurance run on a Kinnally sacrifice bunt doubled TCNJ's lead in the fifth before the Lions exploded for 11 runs in the sixth and seventh innings to run away with Game 1.
 
Mckayla Yard, Camryn Kitchin and Rachel Alecci all hit one-out singles to load the bases in the sixth, setting up Morgan Estelow to score one on a single through the left side before Neveling brought home two more with a single to center field. With the bases loaded again following a Taylor Freudenberg walk, it was Kinnally registering her third sacrifice hit of the day– this time a fly out to right field – that scored two more to bring the run total to five in the inning and build the advantage to 9-2.
 
It was more of the same in the seventh following another quick half inning in the circle from Knasiak, with Kitchin, Alecci, Neveling, Kinnally and Olivia Santos combining for six RBIs en route to the 15-2 win.
 
Along with an RBI to her name, Knasiak also secured her third win of the season, allowing just two runs on three hits and fanning five in 6.1 innings.
 
STANDOUT LIONS

• Neveling was a perfect 5-5 on the day with three doubles, leading the team in runs (3) and finishing second in RBIs (3).
• Kinnally led the way with six RBIs despite having just one hit in the game.
• Manning impressed in her fourth start of the year, going 3-4 with one run scored.
• Alleci finished 3-4 with two RBIs.

GAME 2: TCNJ 9, Neumann 1
 
Wednesday's finale told more of the same story, with the Lions blowing the game open with a six-run first inning and never looking back en route to the run-rule win.
 
Neveling opened Game 2 as she did the first, with a double – the graduate student's fourth of the day and seventh in eight games – before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Santos would score Neveling on the ensuing at bat with a single to second before Kinnally and Knasiak reached safely to load the bases. From there, Sara Vincent and Yard would tally back-to-back RBIs before a trio of miscues by the Knights ballooned the lead to six after the opening half inning.
 
Neumann stole one back in the bottom of the first on a pair of TCNJ errors, but sacrifice flies in the second and third innings from Kinnally and Santos as well as an RBI single off the bat of Gianna Vazquez  built the lead back to eight after three. While the Lions' bats were firing on all cylinders, it was Elizabeth Gosse putting together her best effort of the season in the circle, holding Neumann to just two hits over the final three innings to help secure the win in five innings.
 
STANDOUT LIONS

• The win was Gosse's first of the season and her second complete game. The junior allowed two hits and one unearned run, fanning four in five innings.
• Santos stayed hot at the plate, going 2-3 with two runs and two RBIs.
• Vazquez nearly mirrored the above statline, finishing 2-3 with one run and two RBIs.

UP NEXT

• The Lions head south to compete in the Margie Knight Softball Classic starting Saturday, March 15. The first of TCNJ's four games this weekend will be played against King's (Pa.), with first pitch set for 11 a.m.