MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University softball team (1-5) scored a combined 25 runs on March 11 at The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., but they were swept by Holy Family College (Wisc.) (2-4), falling 14-13 in nine innings in the opener, before dropping a 24-12 decision in five innings in the second game of the day. It was the first-ever meetings between NJCU and Holy Family, an NAIA school from Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
 
There were hits aplenty for the Gothic Knights, with five Knights collecting multiple hits on the day. Junior third baseman Dulce Almonte (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder via County Prep) and sophomore utility player Alissa Bikowski (South Amboy, NJ/South Amboy) were especially hot at the dish, each collecting five hits. Almonte scored six runs and knocked in another, while Bikowski scored three times and had one RBI.
 
Sophomore first baseman Emma Herrick (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) and freshman shortstop Arianna Diaz (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) also had big games, Herrick going 4-for-8 with four runs and three RBI, while Diaz went 3-for-7, highlighted by an inside-the-park home run (four runs and two RBI total).
 
Where the Knights faltered was in the circle, handing out 33 walks and nine hit batsmen, with 29 of those freebies coming in game two. In the second game, the Knights outhit the Lakers 15-5, but they lost by 12 runs.
 
Game 1: Holy Family 14, NJCU 13 (9 innings)
The first game of Wednesday's twin bill was a wild one, with comebacks and clutch hits for both teams. NJCU fell to 16-23-1 all-time in extra-inning games in its history. NJCU played a game that reached nine innings for the first time since March 24, 2012 when it fell to Stevens in 10 innings.
 
The Lakers got out to a large early lead, as they scored six runs in the first, followed up by two in the second, and one more in the third to leap out ahead, 9-0. 
 
However, the Knights, with their backs against the wall, stormed back, scoring three runs in the fourth to ensure the game would continue, and then scored seven more in the fifth to take the lead. Almonte and Herrick keyed the rally in the fourth, while everyone got in on the action in the fifth, with Bikowski nabbing two hits in the inning alone.
 
Neither team did anything in the sixth, but with two outs in the top of the seventh, down to their final out, Holy Family rallied. Elizabeth Turner (West Allis, Wisc.) got things going with a pinch-hit single, and then after two walks, Trinity Nolan (El Mirage, Ariz.) drove in two to re-take the lead, 11-10.
 
In the bottom half of the frame, it was the Knights' turn to get clutch, with Gisselle Vigil (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) coming up big with a two-out single to drive in Hailey Mojica (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) and extend the game to extra innings.
 
In extras, the two teams traded a pair of runs each in the eighth, with a Diaz homer and a two-out, extra-clutch single from Nina Alvarez (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy) extending the game for NJCU this time.
 
In the ninth, the Lakers once again went ahead, and this time that would do it, as the Knights went down in order in the bottom half of the inning to ensure the 14-13 victory for Holy Family.
 
Game 2: Holy Family 24, NJCU 12 (5 Innings)
In the second game of the day, it was the second inning that doomed the Knights, as they allowed 16 runs on 12 walks and three hit by pitches. HFC had just two hits in the inning. Freshman infielder Marissa Heraly (Brillion, Wisc.) had the lone big hit of the inning, a triple down the left field line.
 
Despite the struggles in the circle, the Knights' bats were loud once again, as they scored in each and every inning, finishing with 12 runs and 15 hits.
 
The Knights actually got off to the fast lead in the game, as they scored three runs in the top of the first inning, thanks in large part to a two-out error. In the second, they added two more, this time on a Bikowski triple and Almonte and Diaz singles, to go up quickly on the Lakers 5-0 before the fateful bottom of the second in which they surrendered a lead they would never get back.
 
Heraly had five RBI and three runs, while freshman center fielder Hannah Sykora (Colfax, Wisc.) had three runs and four RBI.
 
UP NEXT:
The Knights continue their Spring Trip at The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., facing off with Holy Family one more time on Thursday morning, before facing Cazenovia College (0-4) in game two.
 
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