Mahwah, NJ:  The Ramapo College softball team opened the 2020 season today with a split against Saint Joseph's College – Brooklyn in non-conference action. The Roadrunners won game one, 5-4 while the Bears took game two, 12-1 in five innings. The Bears now stand at 5-5 overall while the Roadrunners stand at 1-1 on the year.
 
Game One
The Roadrunners got on the board first in the game with two runs in the bottom of the second before the Bears came back to take the lead in the top of the third with three runs. Bianco DiSanto drove home two runs for Ramapo with two outs in the bottom of the second inning for a 2-0 lead. Olivia Wang put down a bunt single and Sarah Browning walked before the Bears turned a double-play for the first two outs of the inning. DiSanto then drove home Wang and Browning with a single to left field to take the early lead.
 
In the top of the third, Vivian Tomovich singled through the left side of the infield to lead off the inning before she stole second base. Tayler Faraguna then singled before Ashleigh Hartwig drove home Tomovich with a double to cut the Ramapo lead in half. Faraguna later scored on a bases loaded wild pitch to tie the game and Sierra Bedrin knocked home Hartwig with the go ahead run with a single for a 3-2 lead.
 
Ramapo would take a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning as they scored three runs on three hits. Krista Verrino walked before Carli Egan drove a pitch to the right-center field gap allowing Verrino to score from first base to tie the game at three. Following a pitching change for the Bears, Egan moved to third on a wild pitch and later scored on a wild pitch to go up 4-3. Browning drove home a run with a sac bunt to extend the lead 5-3. The Bears added one run in the top of the sixth with an unearned run to come within one before Ramapo got out of the inning with a 5-4 lead. The Roadrunners threatened to score in the sixth but could not push a run across home plate as they left three runners on base. The Bears would threaten in the seventh as they loaded the bases with two outs before the Roadrunners got out of the inning with the 5-4 win.  
 
Bridget Nichols earned the win for Ramapo on the mound while Megan Culley earned the save. Nichols struck out three, walked three and surrendered seven hits over 5.2 innings of work while Culley held the Bears to no runs in the final 1.1 innings of work with one strikeout and one walk while surrendering just three hits. Ramapo collected nine hits in the game while the Bears posted 10.
 
Game two
The Bears took game two 12-1 in a run-rule five inning game as they belted out 13 hits including two home runs and three doubles. Hartwig put the Bears on the board early in the first inning with a two-run home run before Nicole Trani made it 4-0 in favor of the Bears with a two-run home run of her own.
 
Ramapo tacked on their lone run in the second inning when Nicole Cerasi reached on a fielder's choice and later scored on an infield error. The Bears added four runs in the fourth and fifth innings to extend the lead 12-1.
 
Jessica Mecham fired a one-hitter for Saint Joseph's College Brooklyn to earn the win. She struck out two and walked none.
 
The Roadrunners return to action on Saturday, March 14^th when they take on #20 Ithaca College (11am) and Penn State University Behrend (1:15pm) a THE Spring Games. The double header will take place at Sleepy Hollow Softball Complex in Leesburg, FL.