Just five days short of making two full calendar years since they last got to wear the violet and black, the New York University softball team returned to the diamond in winning fashion by sweeping its doubleheader against Stevens at the College of Staten Island on Saturday afternoon.
The Violets jumped out to a first-inning lead in both of their victories and rode two stellar pitching performances to never relinquish the advantage on the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game One: Violets 3, Stevens 1
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Kalena Paredes worked a two-out walk in the first, which Erin Scott made Stevens pay for by drilling a double to left for the early NYU advantage.
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Stevens' Alex Shoellig answered for the visitors with a fourth-inning sac fly to knot things up at one, until the hosts regained the lead a frame later.
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It was another Violet RBI double that put NYU ahead, this time off the bat of Caroline Hofmann before she came around to score as an insurance tally later in the inning.
Game Two: Violets 6, Stevens 0
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Scott and Hannah Lee went back-to-back with RBI knocks to quickly go up 2-0.
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Lee then scored Scott with a run-producing base-hit in the third before doubling its run total in the fifth on the shoulders of Kalena Paredes' two-run double before she came around to score the team's sixth run of the battle.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Game One:
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Maggie Swan collected the victory for NYU, going the distance by striking out five in seven innings of four-hit, one-run ball. The southpaw grounded out 11 opponents of the 24 batters she faced.
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Lauren Kong provided a spark from the bottom of the Violet lineup by registering an RBI out of the nine-spot.
Game Two:
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In the circle, Marina Egbert tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits in a one-walk, five-strikeout performance.
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The first five hitters in the Violet lineup did big damage against the Stevens pitching staff, combining to go 8-for-15 with five RBI and accounting for all six runs scored.
UP NEXT
NYU travels to Pennsylvania to play Scranton on Sunday, Mar. 6, with first pitch of the doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m.