New Jersey City University Athletics

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…Ramapo College received a three-hitter from sophomore right-hander Katie Norton (Livingston, NJ/Mount St. Dominic) in game one, and took the lead for good with five runs in the second inning of game two as the Roadrunners swept a New Jersey Athletic Conference softball doubleheader from New Jersey City University, 4-1 and 11-2 in six innings, Tuesday at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.

               

Ramapo, winners of seven of their last nine, improved to 17-6 overall and 5-3 in the league. NJCU (9-16, 0-8 NJAC) has dropped its last eight games.

               

In game one, Norton improved to 5-1 on the mound this season. In seven innings she fanned seven, walked two, and allowed one earned run and three hits. She had a no-hitter going until junior third baseman VANESSA SOLARES (Palisades Park, NJ/Palisades Park) led off the fifth inning with a long homerun to center field, her second of the season.

               

Junior first baseman Beth Choma (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Her two-run single through the right side with one out in the fourth broke up a scoreless game and gave RCNJ all the offense it would need, with a 2-0 lead.

               

Junior shortstop Michele Rossi (Emerson, NJ/Emerson), senior leftfielder Andrea Pastiglione (Southern California, CA/Hunterdon) and sophomore third baseman Lauren Cascino (New Windsor, NJ/Cornwall Central) each collected two hits for the Roadrunners. Rossi led off the sixth with her third homerun of the season. Pastiglione added an RBI double in the fifth.

 

Freshman right-hander ANDREA DELUCREZIA (Belleville, NJ/St. Mary’s-Rutherford) suffered the loss (9-13), allowing only four earned runs and 10 hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

 

04/11/2006 at Jersey City, NJ

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Ramapo College...... 000 211 0 -  4 10  1      (16-6)

New Jersey City Univ 000 010 0 -  1  3  0      (9-15)

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WP-Norton (5-1)  LP-Delucrezia (9-13)  T-1:24  A-84

HR RCNJ - Rossi (3)     HR NJCU - V. Solares (2)

 

In game two, NJCU pulled ahead 2-0 in the top of the first, before Ramapo scored five times and sent 10 batters to the plate in the second inning to take control of the contest. RCNJ added three runs in the fifth, before senior centerfielder Erica Moore (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) sealed the game in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run homerun that enforced the eight-run rule.

 

RCNJ was led by junior rightfielder Leah Mondadori (Emerson, NJ/Emerson), who notched three RBIs and two runs in a 2-for-4 showing. Moore was 1-for-1 in a reserve role, with two runs and two RBIs. Ramapo also received a 1-for-3, two-RBI performance from freshman third baseman Mickey O’Connor (Madison, NJ/Madison), while junior leftfielder Gemma Chalkley (West Milford, NJ/West Milford) scored twice. RCNJ used 17 total players in the game.

 

Senior second baseman KRISTY SKOWRONSKI (Bayonne, NJ/Holy Family Academy) and sophomore shortstop SUSIE MATSUTANI (Gallup, NM/Gallup) each went 2-for-3 with one run. SUSIE MATSUTANI" src="/images/softball/2006/4/11/03-30-05%20Susie%20Matsutani%205.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>Matsutani, NJCU’s leader on defense, returned to the lineup after missing the last 10 games with a shoulder injury. Despite not playing since March 27, she showed no rust in the field, where her flawless defense contributed to a combined 22 outs in the twinbill, including 11 in each game. She had five putouts and six assists in game two after finishing with four putouts and seven assists in the opener.

               

NJCU built a 2-0 lead in first, with RBIs by senior first baseman/catcher LISA ASHBURN (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder) and sophomore catcher/pitcher VANESSA NICOLICH (Cliffside Park, NJ/St. Mary’s-Rutherford). NJCU stranded the bases loaded in the top of the first, while Ramapo left two on in the bottom of the frame.

               

But, in the bottom of the fifth, RCNJ scored five times on five hits. After a bases loaded walk followed by an RBI single by Mondadori tied it, a two-run single by O’Connor gave the Roadrunners the lead for good. Choma added an RBI single.

               

Leading 6-3, Ramapo scored three in the fifth, including two runs on an RBI single through the left side by Mondadori. Solares snagged a line drive to end the inning with RCNJ leading by seven, 9-3.

               

In the bottom of the sixth, Ramapo ended it. After a lead-off walk, Moore clocked a two-run homerun to left field to close the game.

               

Sophomore righty Heather Camb (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) improved to 2-0 this season. In six innings, she struck out seven, walked two, and allowed two earned runs and five hits. Delucrezia (9-14) took the loss, allowing five earned runs and seven hits in 2.0 innings. Nicolich finished the final 3.1 innings, with five earned runs, four hits, and five walks charged to her account.

               

NJCU is back in action on Saturday, April 15 in an NJAC doubleheader at 1 p.m. against Kean University in Union, NJ. Ramapo’s plays on Wednesday, April 12 with a non-conference doubleheader against Albright College at 3 p.m.

 

04/11/2006 at Jersey City, NJ

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New Jersey City Univ 200 000  -  2  5  3      (9-16)

Ramapo College...... 051 032  - 11 11  2      (17-6)

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WP-Camb (2-0)  LP-Delucrezia (9-14)  T-1:41  A-76

HR RCNJ - Moore (3)