JERSEY CITY, NJ…William Paterson University drove in five runs in the top of the first inning of game one and never looked back, capturing a 10-0 victory en route to a sweep of New Jersey City University. The Pioneers prevailed in game two of the New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader by a score of 3-0 at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex on Tuesday.
With the wins, William Paterson improved to 18-8 overall and 5-3 in the league while the Knights fell to 8-18 and 0-6 in the NJAC.
WPU captain Diana Schraer (Paramus, NJ/Paramus), a junior right-hander, won both games of the twinbill to improve to 12-2 on the season.
***********************GAME 1: WPU 10, NJCU 0 *********************
In game one, NJCU junior catcher
VANESSA NICOLICH (Cliffside Park, NJ/St. Mary’s-Rutherford) had the only hit for the Gothic Knights, reaching on a single in the bottom of the third.
WPU’s bats, on the other hand, were hot, as the Pioneers posted 12 hits in the game and scored in four of seven innings. Three batters drove in multiple RBIs for WPU.
Senior shortstop Alicia Albert (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) had a solid day at the plate, reaching on three singles (3-5) with one run and one RBI. Sophomore catcher Meghan Reilly (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) was 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI while freshman leftfielder Chelsea Winkelspecht (Sicklerville, NJ/Washington Township) was 2-for-4 with one run. Freshman rightfielder Christina Zippler (Blackwood, NJ/Washington Township) scored twice.
WPU scored five times in the first inning to seize control, adding single runs in the second and sixth, before capping the contest with three runs in the seventh. NJCU committed six errors overall.
Schraer tossed a complete-game one-hitter, striking out six, and walking two. Sophomore right-hander
ANDREA DELUCREZIA (Belleville, NJ/St. Mary’s-Rutherford) took the loss (4-8), allowing just two earned runs (10 total) on twelve hits with three strikeouts and three walks.
***********************GAME 2: WPU 3, NJCU 0*********************
Game two was a pitchers’ duel between freshman right-hander
REANNON TROGDON (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown Regional) and
Schraer.
Trogdon cooled off the Pioneers’ bats, as they had five fewer hits (7) and drove in seven fewer runs (3) than in game one.
Trogdon pitched five innings of one-hit, shutout softball before Reilly broke the scoring open for the Pioneers in the fifth inning. WPU went on to score two more runs before the inning was over, taking a 3-0 lead that would be the final.
Trogdon allowed just two earned runs (three total) and seven hits, with four strikeouts and three walks, but took the loss (4-10). Schraer pitched another complete-game shutout in game two, allowing four hits, fanning seven and walking one.
Freshman rightfielder
CHRISTINA PROSPERO (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) tallied two of NJCU’s four hits, doubling in the second inning and again in the fifth, but was left stranded on both occasions. Freshman third baseman
CHRISTEN HALL (East Rutherford, NJ/Becton Regional) and
Trogdon provided NJCU’s two other hits.
Seven players reached base for WPU, all on singles, and none had multiple hits. After Reilly snapped the no-hitter with a one-out triple in the fifth inning, sophomore designated player Ana Abourashed (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) drove in the eventual winning run on a dropped fly ball that would have been a sacrifice fly; that RBI, coupled with two in game one, brought her team-leading total to 23 on the season. Senior second baseman April Sardinas-Wyssling (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor—Plainsboro South) and freshman first baseman Jessica Reibis (Jackson, NJ/Jackson)—the daughter of former NJCU 1970s baseball great Bruce Reibis—each added RBI singles.
NJCU is back in action on Thursday, April 12 at 3 p.m. when its visits FDU-Florham in a road non-conference doubleheader.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
