JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Rutgers University-Newark broke open a 2-2 game with seven runs in the top of the sixth inning in game one and scored in four consecutive innings in the middle of game two as the Scarlet Raiders swept a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader from New Jersey City University, 11-4 and 5-0, on Senior Day 2016 for NJCU on April 27 at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.
 
Rutgers-Newark evened its mark at 18-18 (6-10 NJAC) and kept alive its hopes of an NJAC Tournament berth. NJCU dropped to 11-25 and 0-16 NJAC (lost 20).
 
Prior to the game, NJCU honored its three seniors—four-year center fielder/shortstop Thalia Garcia (Ridgefield, N.J./North Bergen), three-sport athlete and utility player Deseree Johnson (Red Bank, N.J./Monmouth Regional) and senior right-handed pitcher/third baseman Jayla Lee Vega (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken).
 
Senior Day Photo Gallery

Game 1: Rutgers University-Newark 11, New Jersey City University 4
Rutgers-Newark and NJCU were even through five innings before Rutgers-Newark scored seven runs on eight hits in the sixth inning to win the opener.  RUN had a 16-8 margin in hits.
 
RUN shortstop Kelsey Lucas hit a two-run homer in the top of the first inning—her fifth of the year—before NJCU junior first baseman Brittany Paulikas (Fords, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) crushed a pitch over the right field fence for a two-run homer to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning, as she went yard for the fourth time.
 
Third baseman Morgan Walizer led the Raiders, batting 2-for-4 with four RBIs—an important two-run single in the sixth and a two-run homer in the seventh. Lucas knocked in three runs, going 2-for-3 with one run. Designated player Liesel Johnson was 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run. Left fielder Elizabeth Marflak and center fielder Samantha Hoffman were each 3-for-4 with two runs. Winning pitcher Kelly Yusko helped her own cause, batting 2-for-5.
 
Paulikas led NJCU with three RBIs, batting 2-for-4 with one run and two extra-base hits. Sophomore left fielder Juliana Squeo (Carlstadt, N.J./Becton Regional) was 2-for-3 and junior right fielder Jazz Randall (Parsippany, N.J./West Orange) scored once, batting 2-for-4.
 
Yusko won (13-13), allowing four runs and eight hits with five strikeouts (one walk). Vega (6-11) took the loss for NJCU.
 
Key Moments

In the sixth inning, Yusko and Johnson singled to open the inning, and catcher Sam Held walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. A first-pitch RBI single through the left side by Hoffman put RUN ahead, 3-2. Second baseman Kayla Gallo followed with an RBI single for a 4-2 margin. Walizer's two-run, one-out single to center scored two more runs as the lead swelled to 6-2. A bases-loaded sac fly by Lucas made it 7-2. As RUN batted around, back-to-back singles by Yusko and Johnson saw the lead expand to 9-2.
 
Freshman third baseman/right-hander Christina Mezey (Jersey City, N.J./Saint Dominic Academy) had a ground rule double in the sixth before scoring on a sac fly by Vega (9-3). Walizer hit a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the seventh (11-3). Paulikas had an RBI double—her 11th of year—to plate the final run in the seventh.
 
Earlier in the game, junior shortstop Brianna Rosario (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) made a nice defensive play to end the third inning with a 6-6-3 double play. Vega retired the side in order in the second and the fourth. In the fifth with a runner on second after a two-out infield single, Lucas made a bid for another homer but Garcia made the catch in front of the fence.
 
Game 2: Rutgers University-Newark 5, New Jersey City University 0
Walizer threw a complete-game shutout, scattering four hits while striking out four (two walks) in the victory, as she improved to 5-4. She aided her own cause by batting 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run.
 
The Raiders scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings before adding two insurance runs in the sixth. There were no errors in the game.
 
Rutgers-Newark outhit NJCU, 12-4. Lucas was 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI and Johnson knocked in two runs, batting 3-for-4. Yusko collected two hits. Vega had half of NJCU's hits, batting 2-for-3. Mezey (5-13) suffered the loss for the Knights.
 
Key Moments
In the third, Marflak tripled over the head of the right fielder and scored the eventual winning run when Lucas hit a bloop single to shallow left center off of the glove of a backpedaling Rosario.
 
After NJCU was held without a hit for the first three innings, Held led off the fourth, working out a 12-pitch walk. After a second walk, a two-out RBI single by Walizer made it 2-0.
 
NJCU broke up a no-hit bid by Walizer in the fourth when Squeo and Vega singled back-to-back before a groundout stranded the bases full.
 
RUN took advantage of NJCU's inability to tie it. Lucas hit a high pop up that fell in untouched for a bloop double to the pitcher and she hustled all the way to second out of the batter's box. An RBI single by Johnson made it 3-0 as RUN scored for the third inning in a row. A two-out RBI single in the sixth by Yusko and another by Johnson made it a 5-0 lead.
 
#KnightNotes:

• All-Time Series with Rutgers-Newark: 70th and 71st meetings. Rutgers-Newark leads, 36-35.

 
What's Next?:
NJCU will close the 2016 campaign with a pair of road doubleheaders. On Friday, April 29, NJCU plays New York University in Riverdale, N.Y. before facing Rutgers University-Camden on April 30 in Camden, N.J. at 4 p.m. in the final NJAC twinbill.