JERSEY CITY, N.J — The New Jersey City University softball team hosted Brooklyn College Tuesday afternoon, March 21, at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex, continuing non-conference action. The Gothic Knights swept the Bulldogs 8-0 in five innings, along with a 7-1 victory in the second game, expanding their winning streak to five.

Game 1:
Jersey City (6-4) opened up the game right where the squad left things off Saturday, March 18, as right out of the gate, junior pitcher Sidnie Dabbadie (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) was locked in for the Gothic Knights in the circle. The Brooklyn Bulldogs' (3-3) bats were completely kept silent as Dabbadie opened up the first three innings retiring the first nine batters she saw, putting five of them down via strikeouts. Luckily for Dabbadie, this time run support came early as the Gothic Knights bats were also locked in.

In the second, NJCU scored a season-high six runs within the inning, pushing the early threat of forcing a mercy rule against Brooklyn. The Gothic Knights also tallied six hits within the inning, as Dabbadie, sophomore designated player Abby Castro (Clifton, N.J./Passaic County Tech), freshman infielder Yavely Marrero (Perth Amboy, N.J./Perth Amboy), junior infielder Emily Tunney (Mays Landing, N.J./Oak Crest), junior catcher Mariah Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) and sophomore third baseman Mya Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) all notched singles to set NJCU up with the eventual 6-0 lead.

The Gothic Knights also did more damage in the third as Castro singled with one out in the inning along with sophomore outfielder Victoria Devoto (Ridgefield, N.J./Immaculate Conception) reaching via a fielder's choice, setting her up to an eventually steal second base. With two outs and the pressure on Brooklyn to escape the jam to avoid getting into a deeper deficit, the Gothic Knights forced an error in right field, scoring both Castro and Devoto to make it 8-0 NJCU at the end of three.

Dabbadie lost her chance of flirting with a no-hitter opening up the fourth as Brooklyn recorded its only hit of the game leading off the inning. Also, despite walking a batter two at-bats later, Dabbadie pitched out of trouble easily, and then carried the momentum into the fifth, recording her fourth 1-2-3 inning, seeling the deal via the mercy rule, as the Green and Gold took game one 8-0.

Game 1 Highlights:
- With her 5.0 innings of shutout work in the circle, Dabbadie now has pitched 8.0 consecutive innings without allowing a run to cross the plate. Additionally over that span, Dabbadie has 12 strikeouts and only one walk, commanding a very strong strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- With her two-RBI performance, Mariah Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) has now seven RBI in her first 10 games of the season, putting her just three shy of reaching a career high, along with boasting a remarkable .409 batting average.

Game 2:
In game two, the dominant pitching performance continued as junior Sam Miller (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) opened things up for NJCU, building off her career-best start Saturday by producing two early shutout innings while only allowing one hit. She eventually exited after 2.0 innings and Marrero took over for the remainder of the game.

Similar to Miller, Marrero did not miss a beat as it turned out, as she too pitched the best outing of her young career. Marrero pitched 5.0 strong innings while not allowing a hit. A run did cross the plate however in the sixth, but it was not of Marrero's own doing. Luckily that run also had little meaning in the big picture as in the bottom of the third, Dabbadie brought home Mariah Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) to score the game's first run, along with Tunney providing a two-RBI single in the fourth and a Mariah Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) RBI double to make it 4-0 NJCU after four.

The run Marrero allowed in the sixth made it 4-1 NJCU, but the Gothic Knights answered back with three more runs of their own as both Tunney and Dabbadie had singles to make the score 7-1 with just three outs left.

Marrero closed out the seventh as she faced four batters to end the game in the final inning. However, her last inning was arguably her strongest as she struck out two of the batters she faced, putting her total to four Ks at game's end earning her first-career victory. The final score was NJCU 7, Brooklyn 1.

Game 2 Highlights:
- Marrero has had herself a strong last four games as, along with the five innings of relief and first career victory, she is now 5-of-7 over that span at the plate with four runs scored.
- Tunney also had a strong doubleheader as she had a four-RBI day, including a career-high three in game two.
- Mariah Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) also had a career high in hits as she went 3-for-3 in the second game

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return home Thursday, March 23, as they host Saint Elizabeth  University for a doubleheader at the Gerrity. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. NJCU looks to expand its winning streak over the Eagles to four as the Green and Gold are 4-1 all-time against Saint Elizabeth dating back to 2005.