Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 NAPLES, Fla. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | On day five of the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic, the New Jersey City University (1-9) softball team saw their top weapon, senior shortstop Hannah Gavin (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown), collect six hits in eight at bats, bringing her to within five hits of 100 for her NJCU career. The team as a whole had a strong day at the plate, collecting 19 hits over their two games. However, Curry College (4-4) and Nazareth College (4-4) were able to capitalize on ill-time NJCU errors en route to 6-3 and 4-2 victories over the Gothic Knights on March 14.
 
Game 1: Curry College 6, NJCU 3
All the scoring in Thursday's opener came in two half innings, while the starting pitchers for both teams had strong days in the circle.
 
Senior right-hander Christina Mezey (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy) got the start for the Knights, with Allison May (West Bridgewater, MA) out for the Colonels. Neither pitcher allowed a run for the first three and a half innings, with Mezey setting down the side in order in the home half of the second and third.
 
Curry broke through in the fourth, taking advantage of four Gothic Knight errors. The first seven batters of the inning reached, although only two collected hits, with six of the runners eventually coming around, leading to a 6-0 lead for the Colonels.
 
Mezey, who only allowed two earned runs, did well to lock back in after the fourth, not allowing Curry to score again for the rest of the game. The Knights, for their part, made their move in the sixth, with back-to-back doubles from Mezey and freshman Maria Montes (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) to start off the frame. Senior second baseman Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune)—the All-Region basketball standout who is playing softball for the first time in her life and quite literally watching YouTube videos of how to slide during her spare time—drove in Mezey with an RBI groundout, the only time Bacon didn't reach base all game, as the senior collected her first and second hits of her collegiate career earlier in the game.
 
The rally appeared to be over there, but with two outs, Gavin once again started the fire, singling to left to drive in Montes, before sophomore third baseman Dulce Almonte (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder via County Prep) did well to wait on a changeup and drive it up the middle to bring in junior catcher Arianna Scrimo (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) and cut the lead to 6-3.
 
The rally ended there, however, and the Knights couldn't cook up anything in the seventh, falling by a final of 6-3, despite outhitting Curry 11 to four. Both pitchers threw complete games.
 
Mezey struck out four and walked only two against four hits. May fanned seven and walked none while giving up three runs and 11 hits. Gavin was 3-for-4 while Bacon and Mezey were each 2-for-3. Junior designated player Caroline Johnson (Milton, Mass.) knocked in two runs for the Colonels.
 
Game 2: Nazareth College 4, NJCU 2
For only the second time all year, the NJCU softball team was the road team as Florida neutral site games decide who is home and away with a coin toss before the game  and they took advantage of that position to get on the board first against the Golden Flyers.
 
Gavin was 3-for-4 with a solo homer (one run, one RBI) and rookie left fielder Gisselle Vigil (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) was 3-for-3 with a run scored. Junior center fielder Kristen Simmons had two hits.  Once again, the Knights outhit the opposition, collecting eight hits.
 
Vigil led off the opening inning with a single, advancing to second on an error. One batter later, Scrimo brought her around on an RBI single, giving the Knights the 1-0 lead.
 
The Flyers had an immediate response, however, as the first two batters of the bottom hit doubles, tying the game up at 1-1. Two batters later, freshman pitcher Maddie Funk (Locke, NY) helped her own cause with a double of her own, bringing in the go-ahead run for the 2-1 lead.
 
Hannah Gavin (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown), as part of her impressive six-hit day, led off the top of the third inning with a shot over the left field fence to tie up the game at 2-2.
 
The game stayed tied for an inning, before Nazareth made their move, capitalizing on two errors from the Knights to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead.
 
That would be it for runs for the day for both teams, as both pitchers—sophomore righty Amber Hunter (Piscataway, NJ/Arts (Newark)) for NJCU and Funk for Nazareth—were excellent on the day, not allowing a single runner to cross the plate for the final three frames. Hunter tossed the complete game with only 87 pitches, as she pounded the strike zone all day, finishing with three strikeouts and just two walks.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Curry: Colonels lead, 4-0.
• Series vs. Nazareth: Naz leads, 2-0.
• Chase for 100: Hannah Gavin (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) needs five hits to become the 15th Gothic Knights to register 100 career hit.

 
UP NEXT:
The Gothic Knights play the final day of the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Friday, March 15. First, they face off with RIT (4-6) at 9:00 a.m. before squaring off with Knox College (0-6) 11:00 a.m. The final day of games of the 2019 spring trip will be broadcast live. Watch live on #GothicVision at www.NJCUGothicKnights.com/GothicVision or live stats https://njcugothicknights.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary.
 
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