By Kevin Hornibrook
News Editor
The College’s softball team rounded out a successful week on April 16 — winning three of their four games against conference opponents. On April 12, the team split a doubleheader with Rowan University, followed by a two-game sweep in a doubleheader against William Paterson University on April 16.
The Lions took the first game against Rowan 3-2, lifted by a fifth inning two-run home run from catcher Julia Mayernik. The win moved pitcher Ally Schlee to a perfect 8-0 after her complete-game performance. Infielder Kayla Hillenbrand led the team with two hits — the first of which was a home run.
Rowan’s Profs led only 2-1 after the first inning of the next game, but the Lions weren’t able to keep up from there. Another run for Rowan in the second inning, three in the fourth and a crushing five in the sixth caused the game to end an inning early at an 11-1 score. The College’s only hits came from outfielders Kaci Neveling and Jaclyn Carifi, each with two. Four different pitchers were sent to the mound to drag the team through the game, combining for 153 pitches. The blowout was only their second loss in the NJAC conference.
But the team was able to bounce back, traveling to William Patterson for another doubleheader and defeating the Pioneers in a much quieter 3-1 game. Schlee tossed another complete game, allowing a sparse five hits in her ninth win of the season. The offense was led by infielder Lauren Conroy, who went 3-3 at the plate with an RBI.
The Lions’ bats were a little livelier in the second game of the doubleheader. 10 hits from the lions propelled them to a 5-3 win, with eight of the nine Lions in the lineup contributing at least one hit. The Pioneers didn’t go down without making the Lions work for it; the 5-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh quickly became 5-3, but pitcher Marina Costello was able to step in and retire the final two batters for the save. Pitcher Julia Roessler earned the win — her third of the season.
Following their successful week, the team rests with a comfortable 20-5 record, 8-2 in the conference, putting them in a good position for the rest of the season.
The Lions will return to action for another busy weekend, with a pair of doubleheaders coming against Montclair State University on Saturday and Rutgers Camden on Sunday.
