The College's softball team recorded its eighth straight victory by sweeping Rutgers University-Newark on Saturday in its first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) games of the season.
The Lions, playing through rainy weather, defeated the Scarlet Raiders 7-2 in the first game and 16-0 in the second. The College improved its record to 15-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference while Rutgers-Newark fell to 1-9 overall and 0-2 in the NJAC.
The Lions were led in the opening game by sophomore Jessica Donohue, who pitched seven strong innings to improve her record to 7-1 on the year.
"The first game we were a little shaky and had a couple of errors, but we came back strong," Donohue said. "We've been doing really well, and yesterday was our only weak game. We're having a great time." Donohue struck out nine batters and currently ranks second in the league in strikeouts.
Also, junior right fielder Danielle Bertran, went two-for-three with RBIs and a run scored, and junior shortstop Carolyn Kaschak, who was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three stolen bases.
Sophomore first baseman Siobhan Scullin went 1-for-2 with a run scored.
Rutgers-Newark was led by freshman pitcher Karla Rahner, who went 2-for-4 with a run.
Lions 16, Scarlet Raiders 0
The College dominated the second game and scored 16 runs off of 17 hits, while holding the Scarlet Raiders hitless.
The Lions jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. Freshman pitcher Jackie Schnorrbusch pitched 3.1 hitless innings to notch her fifth victory of the season while Kaschak went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI.
Sophomore center fielder Kristin Zimmerman, went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored, and junior second baseman Katie Fritz, was 2-for-2 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Zimmerman said the team was not affected by the bad weather.
"The weather didn't affect us too much, and we just took advantage from the start," Zimmerman said. "We scored eight runs in the first inning of the second game, and showed them what we were capable of doing."
Schnorrbusch, who had four strikeouts, credits a change in her pitching mechanics to her recent success.
"It was raining and windy, but my pitches were working really well," Schnorrbusch said. "I changed my motion within the past few weeks, and it's all coming together now."
She was pleased with the outcome of the games.
"The games went really well. We started out slowly in the first game, but we exploded in the second game and showed people what we could do," she said.
The College's March 30 games against McDaniel College were postponed due to inclement weather. There has yet to be a make-up date scheduled.
Upcoming Game
The Lions will next face Rowan University in a NJAC doubleheader at the College on Tuesday, April 1 at 2:00 p.m.
