EWING, N.J. - The TCNJ softball team hosted Kean in its final home games of the regular season Saturday afternoon, dropping a pair of close games to the Cougars. The Lions celebrated their five graduating seniors –
Olivia Santos,
Morgan Estelow,
Gianna Vazquez,
Camryn Kitchin and
Elizabeth Gosse – at the conclusion of the doubleheader.
GAME 1: TCNJ 2, Kean 4
TCNJ was first on the board in its opener against Kean, but a four-run sixth inning from the visitors proved to be the difference in the Lions's third consecutive two-score loss.
Saturday's first inning looked like it would be a quick one after TCNJ's
Maya Knasiak retired the side and the Cougars' Nikki Lusnia fanned the first two batter she faced, but there to spoil the run of stellar pitching was Knasiak. The junior – who had hit two homers in her last three games – made it three in her last four after turning on the first pitch and sending it over the center field wall to give the Lions the 1-0 lead.
TCNJ (19-13, 8-6 NJAC) would double its advantage in the fourth on an RBI single from Vazquez before Kean (21-13, 10-4 NJAC) plated four in the sixth to seize momentum down the stretch.
Knasiak looked dominant through the first five innings – the junior did not allow a single hit while striking out five to that point – but a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases in the sixth before Reilynn Carey hit a 3-RBI triple to right field that turned what had been a Knasiak shutout bid into a 3-2 Cougars lead. Another single plated Kean's fourth run of the inning and made it a 4-2 game, with TCNJ getting runners on the corners in an attempt at a seventh-inning comeback before a fly ball to right ended proceedings.
STANDOUT LIONS
GAME 2: TCNJ 0, Kean 2
Game 2 followed the same story as Saturday's opener, with the Cougars doing all of their damage in one inning while the Lions struggled to get hits against a stout Kean defense en route to a 2-0 loss.
Both sides went down in order in the first before a pair of walks to lead off the second set the table for the Cougars to take the lead. A sacrifice bunt put the pair in scoring position, with Kean getting back-to-back RBIs off the bats of Maddie Cerami and Morgan Boyd to jump in front 2-0.
Gosse was nearly perfect in the circle from the that point on – the senior allowed just three hits over the ensuing five innings – but baserunning miscues in both the third and fifth innings stunted any chance a TCNJ comeback before a hitless seventh handed the Lions just their second shutout loss of the season.
STANDOUT LIONS
UP NEXT
- TCNJ kicks off a four-game road trip to end the regular season Tuesday, April 21 when they take on New Jersey City. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3 p.m.
