JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University softball team opened up home play for the 2024 season at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon, March 16, with a non-conference doubleheader against Baruch College. NJCU and the Bearcats played a very tight game one, which went the way of Baruch by a score of 6-4, but the Gothic Knights bounced back strong with an 8-2 win in game two.

Game 1: Baruch 6, NJCU 4
Baruch (2-8) struck first in the top of the first against the Green and Gold (2-5) as the Bearcats led off the game by reaching on an error and eventually plating that runner with a one-out double. Senior Emily Tunney (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest), who started in centerfield in game one, led off the home half with a triple, but was unable to cross home to tie it up. Senior righthander Sam Miller (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) cruised through the second, working around a two-out single, to keep it a one run game. In the bottom half of the second, junior third base Mya Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) got things started with a one-out double in front of Baruch's rightfielder and then she scored in the next at-bat as junior leftfielder Cheyenn Fulton (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) knocked her in with a triple to the gap in right, making it 1-1.

Another error in the top of the third eventually resulted in a run for the Bearcats as they took the 2-1 lead. Baruch extended that advantage to 4-1 with a couple more unearned runs in the top of the fourth. NJCU cut that lead in half in the bottom of the fourth as junior second base Jordan Mendolla (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) kicked things off with a one-out triple to left. Villanueva struck again, this time with the sac fly to right to make it 4-2. Neither team scored in the fifth, but the Bearcats scored their only two earned runs of the game in the top of the sixth via a two-out, two-run double.

The Green and Gold needed four more runs to tie the game and force extras heading into the bottom of the seventh. Villanueva led off with a single to center and two at-bats later, junior first base Jaelynn Barrios (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) snuck a single through the left side before advancing to second via an error in left — rookie Shannon McGuire (Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun), who entered as a pinch runner, went to third, as well. Freshman rightfielder Alonah Olden (Lake George, N.Y./Lake George) followed with her first bunt single RBI of the day (more on that later) as McGuire scored on the play while Olden beat the throw to first. The next at-bat saw Tunney groundout to short, allowing Barrios to cross home from third. Unfortunately, that closed out the scoring for the game, giving the Bearcats the win.

Game 2: NJCU 8, Baruch 2
This one saw senior righthander Sidnie Dabbadie (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) take the circle for NJCU and she started off by working around a leadoff single in the first, but did not allow a run. She settled down in the second, working a 1-2-3 inning, which led into the home half of the inning, in which the Gothic Knights burst onto the scoreboard with three runs. Barrios got things started with a two-out single, followed by a single from Fulton to put two on. Junior centerfielder Paola Calderon (Brooklyn, N.Y./John Adams) then reached on an infield single — right after she crossed first, an errant throw allowed Barrios to score from third and put runners on second and third. Tunney, now playing shortstop, reached via another error at second, which allowed Calderon and Fulton to score, making it 3-0.

Baruch got two back in the top of the third via a two-run, one-out single, making it 3-2 — that was the only offense Dabbadie allowed all day. The next two half-innings went scoreless before the Gothic Knights put up another three-run bottom of the fourth. Fulton started it with a one-out infield single to first before Calderon snuck one through the left side to put two on. Tunney made it 4-2 with a single up the middle, followed by another one of those RBI bunt singles from Olden, this time to plate Calderon. Senior catcher Mariah Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) closed out the scoring with a one-run single to the gap in right, making it 6-2. NJCU nearly scored again, but Olden was called out on a double-play trying to score in a collision at the plate.

After a scoreless fifth, Dabbadie once again sent the Bearcats down in order in the top of the sixth. NJCU put up two more to make it 8-2 in the home half, all with two outs. Calderon started it with a one-out walk, followed by a single from Tunney to put two on. Olden moved both runners over with a flyout to center before a wild pitch allowed Tunney to get to third and Calderon to score. Moments later, another wild pitch allowed Tunney to cross the plate. That would be the final on the day, giving NJCU the split with Baruch.

Highlights:
- Miller allowed just two earned over 7.0 innings in game one, striking out four, but was saddled with the loss, while Dabbadie had the same line (two earned over 7.0 innings), striking out eight in the game two victory.
- Fulton was 4-for-6 with two runs, a triple and a RBI on the day.
- Mariah Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) and Olden were both 3-for-6 over the two games, each also drawing a walk. The former had one RBI, while the latter had two and a steal.
- Tunney was 3-for-7 with two runs, two RBI, a triple and a sacrifice.
- Calderon was 2-for-5 with three runs and a walk.
- Mya Villanueva (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academic) finished 2-for-6 with a run, a double, a RBI and a sac fly. Barrios was also 2-for-6, scoring twice.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action on Tuesday afternoon, March 19, at 3:00 p.m. for another home non-conference doubleheader at the Gerrity as Stevens Institute of Technology travels across Hudson County to match up with NJCU for the first time since 2014.