The New York University softball team split a doubleheader with host Rutgers-Newark on Tuesday, March 10, at F. Douglass Field in Newark, NJ.

The Violets (3-5) dropped the first game 8-0 before coming back to take the nitecap 4-0.

In the second game, Maggie Swan (Annandale, NJ/North Hunterdon) shut out Rutgers-Newark (2-2), allowing only three hits and striking out five over a seven-inning complete game to earn the win and move to 3-3. 

Swan also had two hits, as well as drawing a fourth-inning walk that sent Caroline Saccacio (Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach) home, opening the scoring for NYU.

The Violets added three more runs in the sixth inning. First, Lauren Kong (Hayward, CA/Castro Valley) drove in a run with a base hit, followed by another two runs off a single from Sarah Mehrle (Liberty Township, OH/Ursuline Academy). 

"In the second game we did a better job taking advantage of our opportunities both offensively and defensively and showed some resilience," said Head Coach Now-Allah James. "But, we have got to get better at starting out faster."

In the opener, the Scarlet Raiders scored two runs in the second inning and six in the third. The Violets actually out-hit their opponents 6-5, but could not string together enough of them to score a run.

Caroline Saccacio (Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach) and Lauren Kong (Hayward, CA/Castro Valley) each had a pair of hits for NYU. 

Eryn Onodera (Cypress, CA/Pacifica) suffered the loss in the five-inning affair.

NYU returns to the diamond in Florida for its annual Spring Break Trip beginning next week. The Violets' first game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, against Arcadia University. First pitch is set for 4:15pm in Clermont.