Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
The Ramapo College softball team defeated conference rival The College of New Jersey twice on Saturday in a home doubleheader. The team shutout TCNJ 3-0 in the first matchup and posted an 8-2 win in the second.
During the first game, in the bottom of the first inning, senior first baseman Nicole Mahoney ripped a double to left-center, knocking in teammates Jackie Howarth, who scored on a leadoff walk and stole second on a wild pitch, and Harper Patsko, who was hit by a pitch. Mahoney would go on to finish 2-3 at the plate with two RBI’s, leading the team in batting for the game.
Senior Grace Brennan was also hit by a pitch at the start of the second inning. Nicole Hernandez moved her teammate to second on a sacrifice bunt before Brennan stole third and home on two wild pitches to bring the score to 3-0.
The score remained stagnant for the remainder of the game, resulting in the victory for Ramapo. Junior Katrina Buczkowski pitched a complete game and earned the win, improving to 7-1 for the season.
In the second game, Brennan put the Lady Roadrunners on the board in the second inning with an RBI, two-run homerun that she blasted into left. Howarth laced a double in the third, followed by a single from junior Ally Spellman, and a three-run homer from Mahoney, making the score 5-0 Ramapo. TCNJ then pitched a walk with bases loaded to bring home one, as well as a wild pitch to allow Ramapo to score yet another run by stealing on the passed ball. Howarth ripped a home run of her own into left in the eighth.
Mahoney recorded three RBI’s and her sixth home run of the season, which she leads her team in the home run category. Spellman and Howarth both went 2-3 at the plate. Erin Fitzsimmons pitched the first three innings before Christina Brizek came in to record the win, making her record 5-2 overall.
On Wednesday, the team earned yet another two wins after they swept William Paterson University in an away doubleheader. WPU, who sat atop the NJAC with a 15-game win streak, fell to the Roadrunners in 8-0 and 3-0 games.
The Lady Roadrunners came out of the dugout posting two runs in the top of the first after Mahoney laced a double into right field, knocking in two for the 2-0 lead. In the third, Brennan ripped another double into center with bases loaded, driving in three. Brennan later scored on an error, just before Mahoney hit a single to score two and make the lead 8-0 for the Roadrunners.
Mahoney collected four RBI’s while Brennan earned three, and Mahoney and Howarth went 3-3 at the plate. Fitzsimmons pitched a complete-game shutout, improving to 8-3 for the season.
In the second, both teams’ bats failed to produce any hits, as the respective pitchers remained steadfast. However, in the top of the sixth, Ramapo got on the board when Brizek hit a double to left, driving home Mahoney, who reached first on a single. Brennan also reached first and was driven home by a single from teammate Sisi Machinski to take the lead 2-0.
In the seventh, Spellman led off with a single, followed by a single from Patsko. Mahoney ripped yet another double to add another run to the board for the final 3-0 victory.
Brizek pitched a complete game shutout, improving to 6-2 overall. Mahoney, Brennan and Machinski lead the team at the plate with two hits apiece.
“The team did a great job both at the plate and in the field, so they were a nice four wins,” said Fitzsimmons. “Hopefully we will continue to play well because we have some more tough conference games coming up.”
The Roadrunners will travel to Stockton University for another conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 22 at 1 p.m.
khueston@ramapo.edu
