Union, NJ: The Ramapo College softball team swept a pair of NJAC games this afternoon from host Kean University. The Roadrunners won game one, 6-4, and game two, 6-0, as they improved to 28-7 overall and 12-6 in the NJAC. The Cougars drop to 20-20 overall and 10-8 in the conference.
With the sweep the Roadrunners clinched the #3 seed in the upcoming NJAC tournament that begins on Tuesday, April 29th. Ramapo will host a first-round game against #6 Montclair State University at the Athletic Center at 4:00pm.
Game 1: Ramapo 6, Kean 4
Ramapo jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Katie Rygiel led off the game with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch before
Alex Hastings walked. Following the first out of the inning,
Avery Kontura singled to load the bases before
Ysabellah Otero lifted a sac fly to center field which allowed Rygiel to score, 1-0. Hastings then scored on a wild pitch before
Sophia Diaz ripped a double to the left-center field gap to plate Kontura, 3-0. Otero was hit by a pitch to lead off the third inning before Diaz walked.
Hannah Hensler put down a sac bunt to move up both runners before
Lia Milsom plated Otero with a RBI fielder's choice, 4-0. Kean would cut the Roadrunner lead in half in the bottom half of the third with two runs of their own. Two unearned runs came home for the Cougars in the fourth to tie the game at four. Ramapo pushed two runs across in the sixth for a 6-4 lead. Diaz laced a single to plate
Kori Gargiulo before
Rebecca Airel worked a bases loaded walk to plate pinch runner Emily Rielly, 6-4.
Brooke Knight (6-1) struck out five, walked there and did not let up a hit in the final 4.1 innings of work to earn the win in relief for the Roadrunners. Ramapo collected ten hits in the game as Gargiulo, Kontura and Diaz all finished with two hits each while Diaz plated two RBI.
Game Two: Ramapo 6, Kean 0
Diaz put Ramapo on the board in game two with her first career home run in the top of the second inning, 1-0. In the fourth, Emily Rielly scored an unearned run to make it 2-0 before Kontura plated Rygiel with an RBI sac fly in the fifth, 3-0. Ramapo broke open the game in the seventh inning as they scored three runs. Gargiulo plated Hastings with an RBI double before Kontura drove in Gargiulo with a hard-hit single up the middle, 5-0. Diaz plated Kontura for the final run of the game with a double to the left field wall, 6-0.
Knight (7-1) once again earned the win in relief for the Roadrunners. She struck out six, walked two and scattered six hits in the final six innings of action. Gargiulo led the way in game two finishing 3-4 with one RBI and one run scored while Rygiel and Diaz each finished 2-4 and one run scored. Diaz and Kontura led the team with two RBI each.
