JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | With a tight window to squeeze the second half of an early-season doubleheader in before the game was called due to darkness, New Jersey City University senior ace Christina Mezey (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy) dominated Lehman College, tossing the eighth no-hitter in Gothic Knight history as NJCU notched a 2-0 win on March 28 at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex. It's the first no-hitter tossed by NJCU in 10 years.
 
Mezey became the sixth different NJCU (3-13) pitcher to fire a no-no and the first since Andrea Delucrezia against Brooklyn on March 20, 2009. The 2-0 final is the closest margin of victory in any of NJCU's eight no-hitters. Mezey limited the Lightning to just two walks, while striking out 11 in a commanding performance to earn a split for the Knights, who lost the first half of the doubleheader, 6-5.
 
Mezey also had herself a day at the dish, leading the team with three RBI on the strength of a double and a triple. Sophomore second baseman Dulce Almonte (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder via County Prep) had a pair of runs scored in the first game, and junior catcher Arianna Scrimo (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) joined Mezey and Almonte as the Knights with multiple hits on the day. Scrimo had an RBI in each game. Lehman is 4-10 after the split.
 
Game 1: Lehman 6, NJCU 5
The Knights fell behind early in the opening game on Thursday, as three errors in the first two innings helped to spot the Lightning a quick 6-0 lead after three innings.
 
On the other side of the field, Lehman senior pitcher Diamond Villegas (Bronx, N.Y.) was locked in early, holding the Knights scoreless and hitless through the first four innings. However, Almonte got things going for the Knights in the fifth, with a one-out single to left center. One batter later, Gisselle Vigil (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) knocked one the other way, before Scrimo brought them both around with a single and a Lightning error to bring in the second run.
 
With the lead cut to four, the Knights looked to make their move. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Amber Hunter (Piscataway, NJ/Arts (Newark)) had settled in nicely in the circle, and the defense started to turn things around as well, with a gorgeous 8-6-2 putout at home to end the top half of the sixth.
 
In the bottom half, freshman right fielder/second baseman Maria Montes (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) drew a leadoff walk, and one batter later, freshman first baseman Emma Herrick (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) found space down the right field line to reach safely on a single. An Almonte walk preceded the biggest hit of the game for NJCU, a three-run triple down the right field line from Mezey to cut the Lightning lead to just one, at 6-5.
 
Villegas was able to get the next batter and then send the Knights down in order in the seventh, however, winning the first game of the day for Lehman.
 
Mezey had three RBIs while Almonte scored twice. For Lehman, Villegas, senior third baseman Marina Delgado (Bronx, N.Y.) and De LaCruz each had two hits with freshman right fielder Stephany De LaCruz (Bronx, N.Y.) driving in two runs. Freshman shortstop Anjolie Alexander (Pelham, N.Y.) scored twice.
 
Game 2: NJCU 2, Lehman 0 (5 innings)
With a 3:45 first pitch in a rather lengthy game one, the Knights and their pitcher, Mezey, knew they would have to be efficient to get in an official game in the second half of a doubleheader, with first pitch taking place just after 6:00 p.m.
 
And boy oh boy was Mezey efficient. The senior standout came out dealing, striking out the first two batters of the game before senior shortstop Hannah Gavin (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) made a nice play at short to end the first inning. Mezey struck out two more in the second (sandwiched around a walk), and the Knights got the lead they would need in the bottom half of the frame.
 
Freshman center fielder Laura Ford (Leonia, NJ/Leonia) led off the inning with a frozen rope to center, and then a slow dribbler down the third base line from Mezey proved too difficult to field, putting runners on second and third after the Lehman error. Freshman left fielder Gisselle Vigil got her fifth RBI of the season on a groundout, and Scrimo came through with a clutch two-out single to drive in Mezey and double the lead to 2-0.
 
That's all the help Mezey would need, as she mowed down the third in order: swinging, looking, swinging. She walked the leadoff batter in the fourth before going: fly out, strike out, pop out. Then, in the fifth, as the last light was melting behind the centerfield bleachers, Mezey once again struck out the side, a fitting end to a dominant performance, giving the Knights a split on the day and their third win of the season.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Lehman: The Gothic Knights lead the all-time series, 21-3. Lehman snapped a 20-game losing streak in the series in game one—its first win since March 27, 1991.

 
UP NEXT:
The Knights play their first New Jersey Athletic Conference games of the season on Saturday, March 30, when they host Rutgers-Camden (4-4) for a conference doubleheader. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
 
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