NAPLES, Fla. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Freshman shortstop/first baseman Naomi Olacio (Bayonne, N.J./Hoboken) had struggled to start her collegiate career, batting just 1-for-12. But she will always remember her 13th at bat. Olacio drilled a grand slam over the left field fence in the bottom of the sixth inning as the New Jersey City University softball program defeated Mount Mary University, 11-2 in six innings in the nightcap of day two of the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic at North Collier Regional Park.
 
Senior first baseman/right-handed pitcher Brittany Paulikas (Ford, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) was the winner in game two and helped her own cause with a three-run home run as NJCU improved to 3-1 to start the season. Sophomore catcher/shortstop Hannah Gavin (Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown) had four hits in the twinbill, including three doubles.
 
In game one, Eastern Nazarene College scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and held off the Gothic Knights, 5-2. Gavin and Paulikas each had two hits in the loss.
 
GAME 1: Eastern Nazarene 5, NJCU 2
Eastern Nazarene, located in Quincy, Mass. on Boston's south shore, scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth and held off NJCU, 5-2. The Lions (3-0), members of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), outhit NJCU, 8-7, and handed the Gothic Knights (3-1) their first loss of the season.
 
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Christina Mezey (Jersey City, N.J./Saint Dominic Academy) came on in relief and tossed 4.0 no-hit innings, walking two.
 
Paulikas and Gavin each had two hits for NJCU, including a double apiece. Catcher Lauren Clements and second baseman Viviana Coix each had two hits and third baseman Lauren Weidler drove in two runs as the No. 2-4 hitters in the lineup led ENC.
 
Elisabeth Schaffer (2-0) won for ENC, striking out six (two walks) while allowing two runs in 7.0 innings. Junior right-handed pitcher Melissa Mendoza (Union City, N.J./Union City) lost (0-1) in her first start, giving up three earned runs and all five hits with one strikeout in 2.0 innings.
 
NJCU committed two errors in the first inning and ENC capitalized. Weidler made it 2-0 with a single. An RBI single by Clements knocked in the eventual winning run before Schaffer helped her own cause, scoring after she reached on a ground-rule double and ENC added a fifth run on a single to left.
 
NJCU left nine runners on base. The Knights got on the board in the sixth when junior left fielder Juliana Squeo (Carlstadt, N.J./Becton Regional) and Paulikas singled before Squeo scored on a ground ball by Olacio. A second run was plated in the seventh when Gavin led off with a double and scored on a two-out RBI double by Paulikas.

 
GAME 2: NJCU 11, Mount Mary 2 (6 innings).
NJCU posted three multi-run innings, including the four-run sixth inning to enforce the eight-run rule as Olacio and Paulikas combined for seven RBIs on two long balls. The Blue Angels (1-3), members of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), scored just two runs in the top of the fourth.
 
Paulikas made her first start in the circle since the 2015 season and won on a day where she also belted her seventh career homer and upped her season average to .571 through four games. Her three-run shot in the bottom of the first gave NJCU the winning margin (3-0). In 4.0 innings, she allowed two runs on seven hits, striking out two. Mezey tossed 2.0 shutout innings of relief, allowing just one hit.
 
In addition to the grand slam by Olacio in the sixth that ended the game and Paulikas' bomb in the first, Gavin was 2-for-4 with two doubles, freshman second baseman Caralynne Rivera (Brick, N.J./Kearny) was 2-for-2 with a double and freshman center fielder Alanis Concepcion (Nutley, N.J./Nutley) scored twice.
 
NJCU seized a 6-0 lead after scoring three times in the third. A ground-rule double by Rivera made it 4-0 before two runs came in on a wild pitch that eluded the defense.
 
Megan Shelley had two RBIs for MMU while catcher Lisa George and second baseman Jess Runge each had two hits. Adrianna Nester tossed the first two innings and was the losing pitcher.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Eastern Nazarene: Series even, 1-1. First meeting since March 7, 2011.
• Series vs. Mount Mary: NJCU leads, 2-1. First meeting since March 8, 2015.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
After a day off on Tuesday, NJCU plays game five and six of the trip on Wednesday, March 8 when it meets Alverno College and Elms College at 9 and 11 a.m. Both games will be played at the North Collier Regional Park (Fields 3 and 4). Elms (2-4) is also a member of the NECC. NJCU leads the all-time series, 1-0, winning the only other meeting on March 9, 2011, 11-5. Meanwhile, Alverno, also members of the NACC, is 1-3. The Inferno defeated NJCU in the only other meeting on March 11, 2015, 9-2.