MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University softball team got the 2020 campaign off on the right foot on Monday, March 9 at The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, defeating MacMurray College, 12-9, before falling in the second half of their opening day doubleheader, 12-3, to Shenandoah University.
 
The team's two upperclassmen led the way for the Knights, as junior third baseman Dulce Almonte (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder via County Prep) and senior catcher Arianna Scrimo (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) each collected four hits on the day. Almonte scored twice and knocked in three out of the leadoff spot, while Scrimo scored once and knocked in a pair out of the five spot.
 
Sophomore first baseman Emma Herrick (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) had a monster first game, with four RBIs and a run on a pair of hits, while freshman shortstop Arianna Diaz (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) had an excellent debut, with two runs and two RBIs on two hits in her first game in the green and gold.
 
Fellow debutants Alissa Bikowski (South Amboy, NJ/South Amboy), Brianna Loughlin (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge), and Hailey Mojica (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) also all had their first NJCU hits on Monday, with Bikowski and Loughlin collecting a pair of hits each, while Mojica got her lone hit of the day in a big moment in game two, driving in an early run for the Knights. Bikowski had three runs and an RBI, while Loughlin scored three times herself. Both played excellent in the field.
 
Sophomore reliever Maria Montes (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) picked up the win in game one for the Knights, entering the circle midway through the fourth inning, after freshman starter Nina Alvarez (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy), who was very sharp to start the game, lost a bit of control. 
 
Game 1: NJCU 12, MacMurray 9
In the first game of the season, the Knights wasted absolutely no time jumping all over their opponent, as Alvarez held the Highlanders (0-2) off the board in the top half of the first, and the offense took things from there, scoring eight runs in the opening frame.
 
The first two NJCU batters reached on errors, and the Knights made MacMurray pay, right off the bat. First, Diaz laid down a perfect bunt single, then Herrick shot one into the gap that cleared the bases and gave the Knights the early 3-0 lead.
 
That started the hit parade, as Scrimo got one, then sophomore Giselle Vigil got into the action, Maia Tejada found some space, Bikowski yanked one into left, and finally Almonte brought things full circle with the Knights' seventh hit of the inning

to put NJCU up 8-0.
 
Alvarez and the defense did well to lock down a quick scoreless second, with MacMurray finally getting on the board in the third inning, with a two-out rally that cut the lead to 8-1.
 
Bikowski and Almonte partnered up again for the Knights' ninth run of the game in the third, but in the top of the fourth, the Highlanders used six walks and a lone single to cut the NJCU lead down to 9-5. Montes did incredibly well to limit the damage, however, coming on with no one out and the bases loaded, and instantly getting a double play before retiring the side one batter later.
 
The score stayed at 9-5 until the bottom of the fifth, when the heart of the lineup provided some nice insurance for the NJCU lead. Bikowski got it started with a walk, Loughlin singled a batter later and Diaz brought both of them home with a two-run single. The next batter, Herrick, brought Diaz around to bring the lead back up to seven, at 12-5.
 
A triple and an error allowed junior second baseman Meka Elmore (Streator, Ill.) to make it 12-6, with the score as such heading into the top of the seventh.
 
The Highlanders made things interesting in the final frame, as Elmore delivered again, this time a three-run double, but Montes was able to focus back in and get a pop-out to short to finish the game and lock in the 12-9 victory.
 
Game 2: Shenandoah 12, NJCU 3 (5 Innings)
In the second half of the season-opening doubleheader, the Hornets (3-5) were able to sting the Knights with a pair of big innings, and quiet the NJCU bats enough to pick up the win in five innings.
 
The Knights started off well,  scoring the first run of the game in the top of the second inning, when Mojica drove in Loughlin with a well-struck single up the middle.
 
Some control issues bit the Knights in the bottom half of the second, however, and the Hornets turned four walks, two hits, and an error into five runs and a 5-1 lead.
 
The Knights had a nice response, however, with Scrimo driving in a pair with a two-out, clutch single to right in the top of the third. 
 
The bottom of the third proved fatal, though, with the Hornet bats really coming out, highlighted by a three-run homer from junior shortstop Sierra Beaty (Manassas, Va.). All told, Shenandoah picked up seven in the third, enough to keep them ahead by the requisite eight by the end of the fifth, to enforce the eight-run rule.
 
Morgan Henley (Poquoson, Va.) got the start and the win for the Hornets, with Megan Webb (Gainesville, Va.) coming on for the final frame.
 
UP NEXT:
The Knights face off with the same two teams — albeit with the order flipped — on Tuesday, March 10, squaring off with Shenandoah at 11:00 a.m. and then MacMurray at 1:00 p.m. on the second day of The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
 
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