New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BOX SCORE (html): Game 1 | Game 2
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES: Inside-the-Athlete, REBECCA SATZ
SENIOR DAY PHOTO GALLERY
VIDEO HIGHLIGHT: Wak-off Winner
SENIOR DAY CEREMONY VIDEO (coming soon)

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University softball senior class received a Senior Day gift that had never been unwrapped before. NJCU led game one, 3-1 before #20 ranked The College of New Jersey tied it in the top of the seventh. But the Gothic Knights responded in the bottom of the seventh when junior center fielder CASEY PEREZ (West New York, NJ/Academy of the Holy Angels) registered a walk-off sacrifice fly as NJCU claimed its first-ever victory over a nationally-ranked opponent and its first-ever win against TCNJ, winning the New Jersey Athletic Conference opener, 4-3, on April 20. TCNJ won game two at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex, 13-1, in five innings.
 
NJCU (13-20, 2-12 NJAC) limited the Lions (22-10, 9-5 NJAC) to just five hits in the opening game. TCNJ entered the doubleheader ranked No. 20 nationally in Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The game one loss to NJCU was its fifth in a row, having previously been swept by #1 ranked Montclair State University and #11 Rowan University. TCNJ leads the all-time series, 31-1.
 
On Senior Day, one of the most accomplished players in program history, senior third baseman REBECCA SATZ (Morris Plains, NJ/Morristown) went out in style, batting a combined 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two doubles in the two games and senior right-handed pitcher ASHLEY O'BEIRNE (Wood-Ridge, NJ/Immaculate Conception) allowed just one earned run in the opener. She became NJCU's all-time leader in games started (91 and 92).
 
Senior center fielder Liz Huttner (Princeton Junction, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South) had multiple hits in both games for TCNJ, batting a combined 4-for-7 with three RBIs. After TCNJ scored twice in the top of the seventh to tie the game, rookie right fielder THALIA GARCIA (Ridgefield, NJ/North Bergen) led off with her second career double, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored when Perez lofted a sacrifice fly to center and Garcia slid in safely with the winning run as NJCU rallied to pull off the stunning upset, 4-3.
 
Satz batted 2-for-3 with two doubles—the 46^th and 47^th of her two-time First-Team All-NJAC career—and drove in two RBIs (No. 107 and 108). Garcia was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two steals and Perez scored the other run, had one RBI on the game winner, and stole two bases, giving her 18 on the season.
 
O'Beirne (13-18), who has started every game except one this year, had perhaps the best performance of a season that includes five shutouts, when the strength of the opponent is factored in. In 7.0 innings she allowed one earned run (three total) and five hits with three strikeouts and three walks over 116 pitches.
 
For TCNJ, freshman left-hander Ashtin Helmer (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) entered the game with a 0.98 ERA but lost for just the third time all season, falling to 13-3. In 6.1 innings she allowed four runs (two earned) and five hits, striking out six without issuing a walk.
 
Huttner had two of TCNJ's five hits, batting 2-for-3 with an RBI, triple and a walk. Senior third baseman Kelly Hommen (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) was 1-for-4 with one RBI.
 
After two scoreless innings, Huttner tallied TCNJ's first hit with a two-out triple in the third. After a walk, O'Beirne coaxed a short pop-up to second to get out of a jam.
 
In the bottom of the third, Garcia and sophomore left field TAYLOR SETAR (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) were hit by consecutive pitches to lead off the inning. Garcia stole third and the TCNJ throw went into center field. With runners on the corners, NJCU ran a double delayed steal. When Setar broke towards second, the throw went down to second and Setar retreated to first, but an alert Garcia took off and stole home before the throw back to the plate could be made. Setar took off and swiped second. On a 1-2 pitch, Satz lofted a single down the right field line that curved into foul territory and Setar slid into home plate for a 2-0 lead before the tag could be applied on a close play. Junior catcher MARISSA BARISO (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford) kept the inning alive with a single to right center and the Knights again had runners on the corners before a ground ball back to the mound ended the frame.
 
In the top of the fourth, junior designated player Nicole Brodbeck (Atco, NJ/Hammonton) led off with a single to the shortstop hole and moved to second on a throwing error before being sacrificed to third. Freshman reserve shortstop Steph Vuono (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern) slipped a ball under the glove of the NJCU second baseman to reach on the second error of the inning but the ground ball produced an RBI as rookie pinch runner Jackie Oram (Lexington, MA) scored. The second out of the inning came when Garcia made an off-balance catch in right field. After a two-out walk, a short ground ball to second base ended the threat.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, freshman designated player STEPHANIE MURPHY (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) lined a single off the tip of the glove of the second baseman but NJCU couldn't capitalize when the inning ended on a runner left early. In the fifth, Huttner walked on four pitches to open the frame, and was sacrificed to second, but after O'Beirne fanned Hommen looking, Huttner was called out for leaving early to end the inning.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, junior center fielder Perez reached when a clean throw to first was dropped to open the inning and she capitalized, stealing second and third. A two-out RBI single up the middle by Satz gave NJCU a surprising 3-1 lead.
 
NJCU needed six more outs for the upset. O'Beirne got a ground ball to second, a bouncer back to the mound and a slow roller to shortstop for a 1-2-3 sixth inning.
 
In the seventh, TCNJ lined out to left field, before senior second baseman Ashley Sogluizzo (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) doubled to center. A shallow pop to second was dropped when junior second baseman MAXINE KAMINSKI (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) backpedaled onto the outfield grass and TCNJ had runners on the corners. Huttner dropped a single into center to cut the deficit to 3-2. Senior left fielder Michelle Casale (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) lined out to Garcia on the run in right center. NJCU would win it with one more out, but Hommen tied the game with an RBI single to center with an unearned run but was tagged out at second by Kaminski before the go-ahead run could cross from third base in an intention run down.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Garcia lined a pitch into the gap in right center that split both outfielders and rolled to the wall. Rookie righty Nicole Hroncich (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) came in to pitch in relief. A passed ball advanced Garcia to third with no outs. Setar walked and Helmer re-entered at pitcher. Perez hit a fly ball to medium depth center field and Huttner, who was playing in, had to retreat and make the catch with her back turned to the plate. Garcia took off and slid feet first across the plate with the winning run to unleash a celebration from the Gothic Knight bench.
  In the nightcap, TCNJ guaranteed it would not be swept, scoring four times in the third inning to break open a one-run game before adding seven runs in the fourth and prevailing 13-1 after five innings due to the eight-run rule.
 
TCNJ amassed 15 hits after just five in the opener, led by freshman catcher Jamie Purcell (Nutley, NJ/Mount St. Dominic Academy), who was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a homerun. Sogluizzo was 3-for-4 with three runs and Huttner added two RBIs and one run, batting 2-for-4. Vuono drove in three runs, batting 1-for-2 with one run and Casale finished 3-for-4 with one run. Freshman left fielder Christine Desiderio (Babylon, NY) collected two RBIs.
 
TCNJ junior righty Alex Carisone (Branchburg, NJ/Rutgers Prep) earned the win (4-2), allowing one run and five hits in 5.0 innings, with six strikeouts and one walk.
 
In defeat, Satz was 2-for-2 with the line RBI and Perez finished 2-for-3 with one run and her first two extra-base hits this season—a double and triple. O'Beirne (13-19) took the loss, giving up nine earned runs and 15 hits against two walks.
 
After TCNJ went down 1-2-3 in the top of the opening inning, NJCU jumped in front in the bottom of the first. Perez, after a 10-pitch at-bat, including five foul balls (four in a row after two strikes), led off with a triple over the drawn in outfield that rolled to the left center fence. Satz deposited the first pitch into to the left field corner for a 1-0 lead to score Perez before being stranded at second.
 
In the top of the second, Purcell had a one-out single and Sogluizzo doubled to right center before scoring the tying run on a groundout to second by Vuono. With two outs Desiderio hit a slow roller to third; Satz tried the short play with a running, under-handed flip to the plate but Sogluizzo slid in safely under the tag for a 2-1 lead. Huttner and Casale had back-to-back singles to load the bases before Garcia made a running catch of a line drive in foul territory down the right field line.
 
In the third, Brodbeck singled and pinch-runner Corinne Minicozzi (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne) scored on a wild pitch. With one runner on base, Purcell lifted a 1-0 pitch over the left center fence for a 5-1 advantage and her first career home run. Sogluizzo doubled off the glove of the sliding left fielder before being sacrificed to third and scoring on a groundout by Desiderio for a 6-1 Lions' lead.
 
Satz had a two-out double, her second of the game and 47th of her career in the bottom of the inning but was stranded at third. In the top of the fourth a long two-out double to left by Purcell, which narrowly missed clearing the fence, made it 7-1. Sogluizzo singled and stole second and she and Purcell scored on a two-RBI single to left by Vuono for a 9-1 lead. A two-run single by Huttner extended the margin to 11-1 before two more runs came in on a two-out error.
 
NJCU will play six road games to conclude the 2013 campaign, beginning on Tuesday, April 23 at 3 p.m. when it travels to Mahwah, NJ for an NJAC doubleheader against Ramapo College.