The New York University softball team dropped a pair of high-scoring contests in a road doubleheader against Montclair State University on Saturday, March 26, in Montclair, NJ.
The Violets (9-11) began with leads in both, but the hosting Redhawks (12-4) mounted comebacks during each contest en route to a pair of wins.
"We gave away two games today with nine total errors and only two of their 10 runs in the second game were earned," said NYU Head Coach Now-Allah James. "We could have easily taken both had we not given them extra opportunities. We were one or two plays away from winning both."In game one, NYU trailed 1-0 heading into the top of the second, but countered with five runs of its own. The Violets offensive explosion came on a two-out rally.
Diana King started off with an RBI single to plate
Ashley Mains from second.
Rachel Fulton followed with a two-RBI single to plate both
Cassi Parulis and
Val Schwein.
Dakota Damiani closed out the inning with another two-RBI single to score King and Fulton.
MSU put up two runs in the home half of the third, but NYU countered once more with a pair in the fourth to lead 7-4. Both runs scored on
Claire Stefanelli's two-RBI single to right-centerfield. Unfortunately, the Redhawks bounced right back with five runs in the home half to take the 9-7 lead. They tacked on one more in the sixth and led 10-7.
The Violets stormed back once more in the top of the seventh and came back to tie it 10-10. Schwein singled home Mains from second with one out, then two at-bats later, King launched a two-run homer -- her team-leading sixth -- to tie it.
Montclair State walked-off in the home half with the help of a few Violet miscues.
Game two saw NYU jump out to a three-run lead at 5-2 after 4-1/2 innings.
Mains put the Violets up 1-0 with an RBI double in the first. MSU scored twice in the home half, but NYU tied it up in the second thanks to a sacrifice fly from King. The Violets then took the 3-2 lead on Parulis' RBI-single in the third.
NYU scored twice in the top of the fourth on back-to-back RBIs from Damiani (single) and Mains (groundout).
Unfortunately, it was all Montclair State for the remainder of the contest as the Redhawks outscored the Violets 8-1 from the bottom of the fifth inning on.
"You can't give good teams chances like that because they will take advantage like today," continued James. "I will give our girls credit though because they battled hard and stayed close all day long. They hit very well today."GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS:- King was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a home run.
- Stefanelli and Mains each went 2-for-4. Stefanelli registered two RBIs, while Mains scored twice and had a double and a triple.
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Olivia Mould went 3.0 innings as NYU's starter. She gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits with three strikeouts.
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Jacqueline Tremblay pitched 2.2 innings in relief. The junior allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits with two strikeouts.
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS:- King was 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and a sac fly.
- Damian was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
- Parulis, Mould and
Sydni Holtz all went 2-for-4. Holtz notched two RBIs, a run scored and a double. Parulis had one RBI and one run. Mould scored a run and stole a base.
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Jacqueline Finn was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.
- Parulis pitched all six innings for NYU and allowed 10 runs (two earned) on 10 hits with two walks and a strikeout.
The Violets return to the field on Wednesday, March 30, when they host the Stevens Institute of Technology at the Bahoshy Softball Complex on the campus of Fordham University in the Bronx, NY. Game one of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm.
