EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ softball team split its NJAC-opening series with No. 25 Ramapo on Saturday, a doubleheader in which both sides stole a late victory.
Kaci Neveling's RBI double in the bottom of the seventh gave the Lions (9-11, 1-1) a 3-2 walk-off win in the opener after rallying from two runs down in the fifth.
Elizabeth Gosse nearly made it a sweep in the nightcap, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning before an untimely error paved the way for the Roadrunners to snatch a 3-1 win.
Game 1: TCNJ 3, Ramapo 2
TCNJ looked dead in the water late in the opener, trailing 2-0 after Ramapo (15-2, 1-1) smacked a 2-run homer in the second.
The game turned in the bottom of the fifth, when
Sara Vincent led off the frame with a base hit. After a sacrifice by
Maya Knasiak,
Olivia Santos singled up the middle and took second on the throw, putting two in scoring position. With two outs,
Morgan Estelow ripped a clutch two-run single up the middle to tie the game.
Reinvigorated with her offense pulling even, Knasiak worked around a one-out triple in the sixth and put another zero on the board in the seventh. That set the stage for walk-off heroics, which were aided by a one-out error from Ramapo. After a sacrifice by Santos, Neveling roped a two-bagger to center to score
Kathryn Carollo with the winning run.
Knasiak threw 131 pitches and pitched around six walks in a remarkable effort, striking out nine while allowing just two runs on four hits.
STANDOUT LIONS
- Estelow: 2-for-3, 2 RBI
- Neveling: 2-for-4, RBI
- Vincent: 2-for-3
- Knasiak: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 9 K
Game 2: Ramapo 3, TCNJ 1
In contrast to Knasiak's workmanlike performance in the opener, Gosse was a model of machine-like efficiency in Game 2.
Given a 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded error in the bottom of the second, Gosse induced one bit of weak contact after another, setting down the first 15 batters she faced. That stretch included four strikeouts, and the left-handed needed only 45 pitches to get through the first five frames without a blemish.
Unfortunately, an infield error started the sixth inning and broke up her bid for perfection, and the no-hitter was gone two batters late on an infield single. After a groundout moved the runners to second and third with two outs, Avery Kontura delivered a two-run double to give Ramapo the lead.
The Roadrunners tacked on another in the sixth and held on from there, retiring
Rachel Alecci on a deep foul-out with two on to end the game.
STANDOUT LIONS
UP NEXT
- The Lions wrap up their 10-game homestand with an NJAC doubleheader against Stockton on Tuesday
