New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BOX SCORE vs. Wooster
BOX SCORE vs. Mitchell

FORT MYERS, FL (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University senior pitcher/outfielder JESS MUCERINO (Whippany, NJ/Whippany Park) was 1-for-3 with a homerun and two RBIs in game one and was the winning pitcher in game two as the Gothic Knights edged the College of Wooster, 4-3 in their opening game of the season before cruising past Mitchell College, 10-5, in the nightcap on the first day of the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic played at the Lee County Sports Complex on Monday.
 
NJCU is 2-0 for the first time since opening the 2002 season with four straight wins. Junior first baseman REBECCA SATZ (Morris Plains, NJ/Morristown) was a combined 4-for-7 in the doubleheader.
 
“It feels great (to win), the girls played really well and they really worked hard, said ninth-year head coach Bridgette Quimpo. “At the end of the day, it's about them working together and they did a really great job.”
 
“Our freshmen stepped up and the bottom of the lineup also stepped up. JANISSA CARDONA (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) had some clutch hits for us and NICOLE CALIXTO (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) was just amazing defensively today. Jess (Mucerino) and ASHLEY O'BEIRNE (Wood-Ridge, NJ/Immaculate Conception) got it done for us today.”
 
 
NJCU handed Wooster (2-1) its first loss of the season by making a run in the bottom of the fifth inning stand. Each team scored twice in the first before NJCU claimed a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third. Wooster tied it in the top of the fifth before the decisive NJCU run in the bottom of the inning.
 
Senior shortstop MEGAN GINTER (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) was 1-for-3 with two runs and a pair of steals and Mucerino drove in two runs in a 1-for-3 effort as a left fielder. Satz was 1-for-3 with a run and 10 putouts defensively and Calixto drove in one RBI.
 
Wooster rookie second baseman Skye Patterson (Wooster, OH) was 2-for-4 with a run. Senior center fielder Rachel Frank (Portland, OR) went 2-for-3 with a run. Junior right fielder Erica Villa (Ashtabula, OH/Lakeside) was 2-for-3 with one RBI.
 
O'Beirne earned the win (1-0), striking out four (three walks) with three runs and seven hits allowed in seven innings. Junior righty Jenn Horton (Worthington, OH) took the loss (1-1) despite striking out six NJCU players and walking none, while allowing just one unearned run in 3.0 innings. Sophomore righty Aundrea Atwell (Painesville, OH) started for the Fighting Scotts, allowing three runs and five hits with one walk against in 3.0 innings.
 
Wooster scored twice in the first on a sacrifice fly by senior shortstop Lauren Swinehart (Applecreek, OH) and an RBI single by freshman left fielder Demi Hart (Shreve, OH), before NJCU tied it on one pitch in the bottom of the frame. After a leadoff single by Ginter, Mucerino launched a homerun to center field to knot the game at 2-2. It was her third homerun in two seasons as a Gothic Knight.
 
NJCU moved in front 3-2 in the bottom of the third as Satz had a one-out double to left center and scored on the first career hit by Calixto, a rookie third baseman, who doubled to right center.
 
Wooster evened the game in the fifth as Frank and Patterson singled and Villa doubled for the third run. But NJCU got a break in the bottom of the fifth and capitalized when Ginter reached on a leadoff error, stole second and third and scored when the throw she forced sailed wide of third for a 4-3 lead.
 
That was enough for O'Beirne who retired the Scots on three ground balls in the sixth, and a pop up and two more groundouts in the seventh.
 
 
In the second game against Mitchell, NJCU scored three times in the bottom of the first and after the Mariners answered with single runs in the second and third innings, put the game away with a three-spot in the fourth inning and a single run in the fifth for a 7-2 advantage. Each team scored three runs in the sixth inning for the 10-5 final.
 
Satz led a 10-hit attack for NJCU, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs while Mucerino batted 2-for-4 with two runs. On the mound, she won (1-0) by allowing just three earned runs (five total) against 10 hits, with five strikeouts and one walk.
 
Ginter, the Gothic Knights usual lead-off hitter, batted sixth for NJCU. She was walked twice and finished with two runs and two more steals, giving her four swipes on the day. Cardona, a sophomore second baseman, produced a 3-for-3 effort with one run and one RBI.  Sophomore catcher MARISSA BARISO (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford) had two RBIs and one run while Calixto and senior center fielder STEPHANIE GOMEZ (South Plainfield, NJ/Belleville) each drove in one RBI.
 
Sophomore pitcher Tricia Tomaselli (Guilford, CT/Guilford) suffered the loss (0-2) for the Mariners. In 5.1 innings, she fanned three but walked three, allowed nine runs (four earned) and nine hits.
 
Also for Mitchell, senior second baseman Nikki Hoxie (Winsted, CT) batted 2-for-3 with two runs while senior left fielder Shannen Pelletier (Coventry, RI/Coventry) went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Freshman third baseman Dylan Riccardi (Elmont, NY) and junior first baseman Tiffany Person (Waterbury, CT) each had two hits and one RBI.
 
In the bottom of the first, Ginter walked, Mucerino singled and both players scored when Satz ripped a triple to right center before she came home herself on a sacrifice fly by Bariso. Mitchell cut it to 3-2 on an RBI double by Riccardi in the second and a double steal of home in the third by the Mariners. NJCU extended the lead to 4-2 in the fourth on an RBI double by Cardona, and added two more runs later in the inning on a dropped fly in center. Gomez scored all the way from second base on a passed ball in the fifth for a 7-2 lead.
 
Mitchell made it a 7-5 game in the top of the sixth on a two-run single by Pelletier and a run-producing double from Person. But NJCU responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning on sac flies by Bariso and Calixto before a bunt single and RBI by Gomez capped the scoring.
 
NJCU looks for two more wins on day two of its spring trip on Tuesday, March 13. The Knights head to Cape Coral, FL for a 1 p.m. game against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) before facing SUNY Potsdam at 3 p.m. in game two.