By Maximillian C. Burgos
Sports Assistant
The softball team had another rough week, dropping two games, tying one and winning their last home game of the season. The Lions traveled to Stockton University on April 18 for a doubleheader, losing 2-1 and tying at 5. The Lions split their Senior Day doubleheader on Sunday, April 23, against Kean University, losing, 9-3, and winning, 3-2.
The Lions lost their first game against Stockton University in a fierce defensive game, 2-1. Junior pitcher Sam Platt allowed one run in seven innings, forcing the game into an extra inning.
Sophomore infielder/outfielder Jess Santelli hit a double at the bottom of the sixth to get on base. Sophomore outfielder Gaby Bennett then hit an RBI double to bring Santelli home for the Lions only run of the game.
The Lions fell in the eighth when the Ospreys drove the winning run. The Lions earned eight hits and one run. Freshman infielder Megan Mayernik managed to get three of those hits.
The second game started the same way as the first. The Ospreys scored in the first and launched to an early lead. However, the second game did not result in a win nor a loss. Both teams answered each other’s runs in the fourth inning. Bennett scored for the Lions. Meanwhile, pinch runner and sophomore infielder Francesca Pugliese scored on an errant throw, dashing across the plate.
In the eighth, both teams scored three runs and kept the game tied. Freshman infielder/outfielder Annalise Suitovsky hit a lead off RBI-single. Bennett and Sophomore catcher/infielder Jess McGuire both hit RBI-singles to push the Lions to a 5-2 lead. Stockton University tied the game at 5.
The Lions played Kean University on Senior Day at Dr. June Walker Field. The Lions split the doubleheader, losing the first game, 9-3, and winning the second, 3-2.
In the first game, the Cougars scored early the first and second innings. McGuire responded with a booming homer over the center field wall.
The Cougars then silenced the Lions by scoring two runs in the fourth inning and three runs in the in the sixth. The Lions tried to rally and scored two runs in the seventh inning, but they lost, 9-3.
In the second game, the Lions flipped the script and came out triumphant. Santelli scored to put the Lions in a 2-0 lead with a booming hit.
In the second inning, freshman outfielder Helena Coppola and junior infielder/catcher Danielle Carey both hit singles. Coppola scored a run on a sacrifice fly ball.
Kean University fought back in the fourth and the fifth innings and scored one run in both. Sophomore pitcher Sara Bielamowicz closed the door on their offense, restricting them from scoring anymore. Junior pitcher Sam Platt closed the game out, ensuring the victory.
The Lions currently sit in seventh place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. They are four points behind sixth place Stockton University. The Lions record is currently 12-15-1.
The team will play its last games of the season in a doubleheader at Montclair State University on Saturday, April 29.
