Ramapo softball sweeps Rutgers-Newark in doubleheader

Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics.

The Ramapo softball team swept an NJAC doubleheader over Rutgers-Newark on Tuesday. The Roadrunners extended their winning streak to six games and improved their record to 19-6 overall and 10-2 within the NJAC Conference. The Scarlet Raiders dropped to 10-14 and 4-8 in conference play after their pair of losses.

In game one, Ramapo started the scoring early after two runs in the top of the first. The first run was driven in by an RBI single by Katie Rygiel. Later in the inning, pitcher Mahogany Wheeler — who got on base via a walk right before Rygiel’s single — crossed the plate following a passed ball by Rutgers catcher Megan Tomaselli.

The Scarlet Raiders answered right back in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs of their own courtesy of a Jackie Lara RBI double and a Michelle Capizzano RBI single. However, in the top of the second, Ramapo’s offense exploded and took a 7-2 lead which it never surrendered. Helped by two errors, five Roadrunners were able to cross the plate in the inning. 

The first run of the inning came on a Carli Egan infield single, and then two more runs came in after an Alexis Corra double. Corra’s double accounted for two of her eventual five RBIs in the game. The final two runs of the inning came in on Rygiel’s second hit of the day, a two-run double.

In the next inning, Corra tripled home another run and then came home to score in the next at-bat, extending Ramapo’s lead to 9-2. Ramapo’s next two runs in the following inning were manufactured by Jaclyn Monaco, who drove one in on an RBI single and then prompted Marissa DiPaolo to score from third on a throwdown to second after Monaco swiped the bag. The Roadrunners tacked on two more runs in this inning, courtesy of another Corra two-run hit, this one a single to center field pushing the score to 13-2.

Ramapo added one more run in the top of the fifth on a Thu Deo RBI single. Rutgers answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the final frame as the final score ended in a 14-4 Ramapo victory.

Wheeler earned the win in this one, recording a complete game after going five innings and only allowing four runs on seven hits. Her record improved to 8-5 on the season.

The second game of the doubleheader began and Ramapo carried its momentum straight from the first as the Roadrunners scored four runs in the top of the first inning. After finishing her complete game in game one just about 35 minutes prior to the start of the second game, Wheeler kicked off the scoring with a three-run triple to right field, scoring Corra, Egan and Krista Verrino. Wheeler then scored the fourth run on the inning after being driven in by a Rygiel sacrifice fly to center.

Rutgers earned one run back in the bottom of the first off of Ramapo’s starter DiPaolo, pushing the score to 4-1. The Roadrunners reclaimed a four-run lead in the top of the third, as Wheeler hit a solo home run to left field, tallying her fourth RBI of the game and making the score 5-1.

The top of the fourth is where Ramapo pulled away as the team scored four more runs making the score 9-1. The scoring in this inning kicked off with an Egan RBI single. The next two runs of the inning were driven in by another Wheeler triple, giving her six RBIs on the day so far. Wheeler then came home on a Rygiel RBI single. 

In the top of the fifth, Ramapo put up three more runs. The first came on a Corra RBI triple, and then Wheeler singled her home, giving Wheeler four hits and seven RBIs in a very successful day at the plate. After one more run came home for the Roadrunners on an error, DiPaolo only allowed one run in the bottom of the fifth and the game ended in a 12-2 Ramapo victory.

DiPaolo added on yet another great performance to her incredible season in this game, pitching a complete game after going five innings and striking out eight Scarlet Raiders. She only allowed two runs and recorded the win, improving her season record to 10-1.

Ramapo next takes the field on Saturday, April 23 when the team hosts a doubleheader against New Jersey City University. The games will be NJAC conference games and the first game will begin at 1:00 p.m.

 

bschmid@ramapo.edu