JERSEY CITY, NJ…The College of New Jersey received a three-hitter from senior right-hander Julianne Lajiness (Monroe Township, NJ/Notre Dame) in game one and a two-hit shutout by senior righty Heather Hoffman (Annandale, NJ/Immaculata) in game two as the Lions swept a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader from New Jersey City University, 9-1 in six innings and 6-0, Saturday at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.
TCNJ wins its third consecutive game to improve to 14-12 overall and 4-8 in the league. NJCU falls to 10-22, and 2-12 in the NJAC.
***********************GAME 1: TCNJ 9, NJCU 1 (6 innings) *********************
Trailing 1-0 after two innings, the Lions scored six runs in the top of the third to seize control and added two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. The Lions collected 15 hits in all, including five doubles.
Lajiness earned the win (8-4), allowing one unearned run and three singles, with eight strikeouts and two walks.
Senior second baseman Tara Harrigan (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) was the offensive star for TCNJ, finishing 3-for-4 with three doubles, three RBIs and three runs. Senior first baseman Jess Kohut (Hillsdale, NJ/Pascack Valley) had three RBIs in a 2-for-3 showing, scoring and doubling once.
Also for the Lions, freshman shortstop Ellen Seavers (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) was 2-for-4 with two runs while freshman third baseman Rachel Greeby (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and one run. Senior centerfielder Jen Hughes (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) was 2-for-4 with one run.
Freshman first baseman
REANNON TROGDON (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown Regional) had two of NJCU’s three hits, finishing 2-for-3. Sophomore right-hander
ANDREA DELUCREZIA (Belleville, NJ/St. Mary’s (Rutherford)) took the loss for the Gothic Knights (6-10). She had four strikeouts in defeat, but allowed all of TCNJ’s offense.
Harrigan and Kohut each had RBI doubles for the Lions in the six-run third inning and Greeby had a two-run single. Harrigan added an RBI double in the fourth and Kohut scored her with an RBI single.
***********************GAME 2: TCNJ 6, NJCU 0 *********************
In game two, the Lions scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, aided by three NJCU errors to pull ahead to stay. None of the runs that inning were earned and all came with two outs.
Hoffman secured the victory (2-3) by tossing a complete-game two-hitter, scattering just two singles, with eight strikeouts and one walk.
It was a quieter game offensively for TCNJ which had eight hits. Freshman designated player Danielle Hagel (Wading River, NY/Shoreham Wading River) was TCNJ’s only player with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with one run. Hughes was 1-for-2 with two runs and one RBI while junior catcher Lauren Musacchia (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) was 1-for-1 with two RBIs.
Trogdon was NJCU’s starter in game two, and only allowed one earned run, but six total marks as the Knights’ defense faltered. She walked two and allowed eight singles in defeat (4-12). At the plate, she had one of NJCU’s two hits.
NJCU is back action on Tuesday, April 24 at 3 p.m. when it visits #17 ranked Ramapo College in an NJAC doubleheader in Mahwah, NJ. TCNJ hosts Rowan University tomorrow at 1 p.m.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
