JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The nationally No. 9 ranked Kean University softball team swept a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader from the New Jersey City University softball team on April 2, winning 22-1 and 9-0, both in five innings, at NJCU's Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex.
 
Kean improved to 22-3 overall and 2-2 in the NJAC while winning for the 18th time in its last 20 games. NJCU fell to 3-17 (0-4 NJAC).
 
NJCU senior shortstop Hannah Gavin (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) hit her third homer of the season to breakup a shutout in game one. Kean scored in nine of 10 innings on the day and hit a combined five homers in the doubleheader.
 
Kean senior Jacqueline Riley (South Amboy, N.J.) led the Cougars. She was 6-for-6 on the day with eight RBIs and four runs scored while earning the win in the circle in the opening game.
 
GAME 1: Kean 22, NJCU 1 (5 innings)
The Cougars produced its second highest run total in the history of the series in the opening game, notching 23 hits as Kean prevailed in five innings. Kean scored four runs in the first inning, two in the second and four in the third for a 10-0 lead, before tacking on nine runs in the fourth and three in the fifth.
 
Riley batted 3-for-3 with six RBIs, two runs, two doubles and a three-run homer for the Cougars. She also won, improving to 9-1 overall, going 3.0 innings with three strikeouts and one walk, allowing a lone hit. Sophomore Nicole Vassallo (Jefferson, N.J.) came off the bench two hit two homers, including a three-run shot, and batted 2-for-2 with five RBIs and two runs.
 
Also for Kean, sophomore second baseman Julie Raba (Spotswood, N.J.) was 4-for-4 with four runs and three RBIs. Senior right fielder Caroline Ratti (South Plainfield, N.J.) batted 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs on a two-run homer. Senior Erin Hollyfield (Milford, N.J.) came off the bench to bat 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Senior left fielder Olivia Zengel (Stockton, N.J.) scored three times. Sophomore shortstop Gabriella Fredette (Hackensack, N.J.) and freshman center fielder Grace Cofino (Hillsborough, N.J.) each finished with two hits.
 
GAME 2: Kean 9, NJCU 0 (5 innings)
Kean scored four times in the top of the fifth inning—all with two outs—to enforce the eight-run rule and sweep the twinbill. The Cougars scored twice in the second inning to claim a 2-0 lead before adding a single run in the third and two in the fourth.
 
Junior left-handed pitcher Taryn DiGiacomo (Saddle Brook, N.J.) won (11-2), striking out seven without issuing a walk while allowing just three hits in 5.0 innings.
 
Riley led the way for Kean, batting 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs while senior third baseman Cayleen Rizo (Hillsborough, N.J.) drove in three runs, batting 2-for-3. She lined a two-run homer down the right field line in the second and had an RBI double in the third.
 
Zengel (2-for-4, 2 runs, 1 RBIs) and sophomore center fielder Maria Bonfanti (Easton, Pa.) in a 2-for-3 effort helped compliment the win.
 
Senior Christina Mezey (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy) had a hit in each game of the doubleheader for NJCU in a losing cause.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: 62nd and 63rd meetings. Kean leads all-time, 57-6.

 
UP NEXT:
NJCU plays its first road games of the season on Thursday, April 4 at 3 p.m. when it meets Centenary University (7-15, 2-2 Colonial States Athletic Conference) at Legion Field in Hackettstown, N.J.
 
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