New York University's softball team began its 2023 campaign with a doubleheader split against the University of Scranton on Saturday evening at Bahoshy Field in the Bronx.
The Violets won their first game of the year 5-3 behind a complete-game victory in the circle from
Marina Egbert and a two-run home run off the bat of
Madi Hand. Scranton took game two, 10-7, despite a last-inning rally from NYU.
Game 1: NYU 5, Scranton 3
Egbert kept the Royals scoreless in the top of the first before NYU plated three runs in the bottom half.
Sophia Leon scored on a passed ball,
Emma Aridi scored her first collegiate run on a Scranton error, and Hand singled up the middle for her first RBI of the season as the Violets took an early 3-0 lead.
Still leading 3-0, Aridi doubled to lead off the bottom of the third. Two batters later, Hand launched a high drive well over the center field fence for the Violets' first long-ball of the season and a 5-0 advantage.
Egbert held the Royals scoreless for the first four innings and, despite allowing three runs in the fifth, had a strong 2023 debut. She tossed seven full innings while just two of her three runs were earned as she struck out nine and walked four.
Leon, Aridi and Hand all went 2-for-3 while Egbert,
Caroline Hofmann and
Margaux Lesser each picked up a hit for NYU.
Game 2: Scranton 10, NYU 7
Scranton bounced back well in game two, notching four runs in the top of the first on four hits and an NYU error. Leon scored once again on a passed ball to give the Violets one run back in the bottom half.
A two-run single from Hand in the third brought NYU within one, 4-3, but the Royals scored five runs over the next two frames to take a 9-3 lead after four-and-a-half.
Lily Candelaria crossed home on a passed ball in the bottom of the fifth for her first run of the year, but Scranton tacked on another in the sixth as NYU entered the final inning down 10-4.
The Violets rallied in the bottom of the seventh as
Bella Dunning walked to lead things off and Candelaria was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Aridi stepped in and tripled down the right field line to bring two runs in before another walk and hit batter loaded the bases with no outs.
Samantha Burggraf drove Aridi in but the bats slowed from there as Scranton escaped with a three-run victory.
Angelina Biele, a transfer from Division I Duke University, made her NYU debut in the circle and pitched 4.2 innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and two walks while fanning four.
Emily Stone made her first pitching appearance of the season, going 2.1 innings and allowing just one run on one hit and no walks while striking out a pair.
Candelaria finished 2-for-2 with three runs scored and a double. Aridi went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a run and her first collegiate triple. Hand drove in a pair to bring her RBI total for the day to five.
The Violets return to the diamond tomorrow, March 5, with a doubleheader at Stevens Institute of Technology beginning at 1:00 p.m.
