JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | If Senior Day is an exclamation mark on the careers of a program's student-athletes, the 2017 version for the New Jersey City University softball team will be one they will never forget. Trailing 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, sophomore right-handed pitcher Christina Mezey (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy) tied it with an RBI single before freshman catcher Arianna Scrimo (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) provided the walkoff heroics with an RBI single to left as the Gothic Knights upset nationally No. 20 ranked William Paterson University, 2-1, in the opener of a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader on April 29. WPU won game two, 7-0, in the season finale at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.
 

With the win, NJCU snapped a multi-year losing streak in the conference and gave the Gothic Knights (11-25, 1-17 NJAC) their second win over a ranked team in program history. Ironically, the other win over a team in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 rankings, also came on Senior Day 2013 when NJCU upset No. 20 TCNJ, 4-3, also in Jersey City, on April 20, 2013.
 
Prior to the doubleheader, NJCU honored its two seniors, All-NJAC first baseman/right-handed pitcher Brittany Paulikas (Fords, NJ/JFK-Iselin) and infielder Brianna Rosario (Roselle, NJ, Abraham Clark).
 
Freshman Keyonne Ingram (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) who pinch ran for Mezey, scored the winning run when Scrimo delivered.
 
William Paterson, which will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming NJAC Tournament, closed the regular season at 27-9, 15-3 in the NJAC.
 
It was NJCU's first victory over the Pioneers at home in program history and snapped a 16-game losing streak to WP, dating to a 4-3 win in Wayne, N.J. on April 8, 2008.
 
NJCU also won its first NJAC game since defeating Rutgers-Newark, 3-0, on April 12, 2014.
 
GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS: New Jersey City 2, William Paterson 1
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Christina Mezey (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy) went 2-for-3 with the tying RBI through the left side in the bottom of the seventh while picking up her eighth victory of the season in game one as she struck out three, walked five and gave up no earned runs and six hits in 7.0 innings of work. Neither team had an earned run in the game with WP owning a narrow 6-5 edge in hits.
 
WP senior right-handed pitcher Gabrielle Castelli (Cedar Grove) lost for just the third time (15-3) despite retiring the NJCU offense in order in five of the first six innings. Overall, Castelli pitched 6.2 innings, struck out nine against one walk, and gave up five hits and no earned runs. For WP, junior center fielder Eleni Lutas (Pompton Plains, N.J.) went 2-for-2 with one walk in the loss.
 
William Paterson went up 1-0 in the fifth inning when junior left fielder Kara Molnar (Jackson, N.J.), who walked with two outs, scored on throwing error after junior second baseman Kaitlyn Poretti (Florence, N.J.) advanced her to third base on an infield single to shortstop. The Pioneers threatened to extend their lead in the sixth inning but Mezey was able to strand two runners in scoring position.
 
In what became a pitchers' duel between Mezey and Castelli, the Gothic Knights prevailed with some late heroics in the bottom of the seventh inning. After freshman Caralynne Rivera (Brick, NJ/Kearny) pinch hit and reached on a fielding error to start the inning, Castelli retired the next two batters as Rivera advanced to third.
 
Yet, the Gothic Knights wouldn't go quietly as Mezey singled through the left side to score Rivera from third. Freshman right fielder Kayla Clarke (East Rutherford, NJ/Becton Regional) walked to put runners on first and second and the speedy Ingram pinch ran for Mezey. The decision paid off as Ingram rounded third and scored the game-winning run on Scrimo's bloop single between the second baseman and left fielder. A jubilant Gothic Knight side stormed the field after Ingram safely touched home in the come-from-behind win.
 
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS: William Paterson 7, New Jersey City 0
In game two, NJCU ran into one of the top pitchers in the region. WP senior right-handed pitcher Allison Podmajersky (Red Bank, N.J.) threw her third career no-hitter and second of the season as she struck out 10 batters in seven innings of work. Podmajersky (10-6) was perfect through 4.2 innings until freshman shortstop Naomi Olacio (Bayonne, NJ/Hoboken) walked and was the lone Gothic Knight batter to reach base in game two. Podmajersky's other no-hitter this season came in five innings against DeSales on April 20.
 
For WP, senior first baseman/designated player Salina Pellios (Middlesex, N.J.) went 3-for-4, including a double, with three RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore third baseman Christine

Griffith (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) also was 3-for-4 with three runs while senior catcher Kim Fryer (East Stroudsburg, Pa.) finished 2-for-4 with one RBI.
 
Mezey threw her 18th complete game of the season as she gave up five earned runs through seven innings of work with one strikeout and one walk.
 
WP scored two runs in the second and one in the third for a 3-0 lead before adding three insurance runs in the sixth and an additional run in the seventh to get back into the win column. WP only had two doubles in the game and no hit drove in more than one run.
 
QUOTABLE KNIGHTS:
Brittany Paulikas (Fords, NJ/JFK-Iselin) on the win over WP: "To beat Willie P, who is nationally ranked, was huge for us today. For all of us on the team and the coaching staff it was the first NJAC win for us. To split with Willie P was definitely a huge accomplishment for us as a team because we knew all season we could battle with anyone in the NJAC and today, during game one, we showed that. I couldn't ask for a better team to fight with all season and to go out on Senior Day ending the season splitting with William Paterson was definitely something that I'll never forget and I can't thank my coaches and teammates enough for that."
 
Arianna Scrimo (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) on the reaction to her winning hit: "It was great to do that for them [the seniors] and help the seniors get their W! "I was focusing on correcting what I did in my previous at bats and looking for a pitch to hit, and when I saw the ball on the outside corner, I was able to step to it and drop in a single to bring in the run. At first I didn't even realize what happened but once it hit me, I was just happy to be a part of this team win and happy that our seniors were able to get one last win before they graduate."
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: 43rd meeting. WP leads all-time series 40-3. NJCU snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Pioneers, dating to April 8, 2008, 4-3, in the second game of a doubleheader played in Wayne, N.J.
• The win snapped a 61-game NJAC losing streak for the Gothic Knights.
• With one hit in Saturday's doubleheader against the Pioneers, Paulikas ends her three-year career at NJCU with 95 career hits in 111 games and a .326 batting average. She walked 15 times this season.

 
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