CAMDEN, N.J. — For the first time since 2000, the New Jersey City University softball team competed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament this afternoon, Tuesday, May 4. The Gothic Knights — seeded 10th in the tournament — faced off with seventh-seeded Rutgers-Camden in a First Round single-elimination game with a trip to the quarterfinal series on the line. NJCU led the way through six-plus innings behind a stellar pitching performance from rookie Sam Miller (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy), but ultimately fell to the Scarlet Raptors via a two-out walk-off single.

The Gothic Knights (0-19) got things started against Rutgers-Camden (9-12) in the top of the first inning with a two-out rally with the bases empty. Freshman Emily Tunney (Mays Landing, N.J./Oak Crest) began with a solid stroke to the corner in right field and legged it all the way out for the first triple of her collegiate career. Up next, reigning NJAC Player of the Week junior Emma Herrick (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) hit a seeing-eye single through the right side for the RBI to make it a 1-0 game.

Miller — who finished the day with 6.2 innings pitched, allowing just four hits while striking out three and did not give up an earned run (two unearned) — went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first to preserve the 1-0 lead. The Scarlet Raptors did nab their first hit of the game in the bottom of the second, but Miller got out of the jam with an inning-ending strikeout. In the top of the third, NJCU started off another rally. With one out, junior Brianna Loughlin (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) singled up the middle, and then stole second with two outs. Herrick then got hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Unfortunately Loughlin got caught trying to steal third on a failed hit-and-run attempt to end the half inning. Both pitchers then pretty much cruised through the remainder of the game until the sixth inning.

The Gothic Knights looked to stretch their lead in the top half of the sixth as Herrick led off with an error at first, sending a grounder between the legs of her counterpart to reach safely. With one out, Miller dropped a sacrifice bunt attempt, but the lead runner — Herrick — was out on the play, resulting in a fielder's choice. The inning ended on a strikeout to bring it to the bottom half. Rutgers-Camden managed one hit, but three standout defensive plays kept the score 1-0 in favor of NJCU. Senior Alissa Bikowski (South Amboy, N.J./South Amboy) started off with a sliding catch in foul territory for the first out, followed by a caught-line drive right back to Miller's pitching circle. After a two-out hit, Tunney handled a tough grounder to catch the runner at first and end the inning.

After a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, the Gothic Knights looked to close out their first victory of the season with three outs, as well as their first NJAC Tournament win since 1998. Miller got the first two batters out, including a strikeout. Rutgers-Camden then hit a sharp grounder to the gap between third and short, but Tunney was able to show her range and handle it — but not with enough time to throw the runner out, leading to an infield single. The runner then advanced to second on a wild pitch, followed by a walk to put runners on first and second. In the following at-bat, it looked as though NJCU was about to squeak by with the victory, but the bunt-for-a-hit attempt was mishandled at first for the error, which allowed the batter to reach safely and the runner on second to score and tie it up at 1-1. In the next and final at-bat, the Scarlet Raptor hitter singled to center for the RBI to close out the game.

Whats Next
For the Gothic Knights, their season comes to and end. However, the future is bright for head coach Ashley Martinez' squad, which features nine underclassmen who now have NJAC postseason experience under their belt.