Bronx, NY | The Scarlet Raiders softball squad traveled to the Bronx, NY this afternoon to take on non-conference foes, New York University. The Scarlet Raiders had a win ripped away from them in the first game before NYU picked up the sweep in game two.
Sarah Stiehler finished the day 3-for-8 with three RBI and a run while
Jackie Lara collected a pair of RBI on 4-of-8 hitting with a run. Lara also pitched 4.2 innings in game one and had four strikeouts while allowing eight hits.
Brielle Mattiello crossed the dish twice in the afternoon.
Game 1: New York University 10, Rutgers-Newark 9
The Scarlet Raiders (6-10) and Violets each tallied 10 hits but it was the home squad that earned a win in the first game of this doubleheader.
NYU (9-3) was first on the board with a leadoff home run by King over the left field fence. S. Ponciano followed that up with a single up the middle and would eventually score when Paredes walked.
Julie Contravo singled down the right field line to get on base as the leadoff batter.
Sarah Stiehler followed that up with a single through the right side to move Contravo over to second.
Sam Morton would get hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.
Riley Scuralli reached on a fielder's choice to which scored Contravo from third. The Scarlet Raiders attempted a double steal but NYU was ready for it as they were able to throw both Scuralli and Stiehler out.
Rutgers-Newark hit their way to the lead in the top of the third. The Scarlet Raiders scattered four hits and scored five runs to leapfrog NYU for the lead.
Brianna Hernandez struck out to lead the inning but a dropped ball allowed her to advance to first.
Samantha Hoffman moved Hernandez over to second with a sacrifice bunt before
Jaclyn Arute struck out for the second out.
Brielle Mattiello singled up the middle to put a pair of runners on the bases in favor of the Scarlet Raiders.
Jackie Lara scored Hernandez from third with a single through the right side. Stiehler then hit that same gap for a two-RBI single to increase the Scarlet Raiders' lead. Rutgers-Newark would take a 6-2 lead after three innings of play and had all the momentum on their side.
NYU cut the lead in half when Ponciano homered to left center before Stefanelli recorded the final out of the inning.
The Violets would even the score in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run inning. NYU used all 9 of their batters to knot the game up at six. King highlighted the inning with a two-RBI double to right center which scored both Paredes and Saccacio.
The Scarlet Raiders answered with three runs of their own to regain the lead in the top of the sixth. Hoffman got the inning started on the right foot with a single to third base followed by an Arute single up the middle. Lara would ground out to the second baseman but Hoffman would score from third. Contravo would reach on a fielder's choice which allowed Arute to score from third.
Rutgers-Newark looked to have the win in the bag, however, NYU stormed back to score four runs in the bottom of the seventh to steal the win away from the Scarlet Raiders.
Game 2: New York University 6, Rutgers Newark 2
Once again NYU was first to the scoreboard with an RBI sacrifice fly by Tindall.
After scoring 9 runs in the first matchup the Scarlet Raiders were held scoreless for five innings. NYU found a way to add to their total in the bottom of the fifth where they tallied five more runs. King started the scoring outburst with a leadoff triple to right field and came all the way home on a throwing error. Four errors plagued the Scarlet Raiders in the bottom of the fifth which allowed the five runs by the Violets.
Morton scored the lone run for the Scarlet Raiders in the top of the sixth with a leadoff home run which she sailed over the left field fence. Rutgers-Newark was unable to build off of that momentum as they would go down in order after Morton's at-bat.
Staring defeat in the eyes, the Scarlet Raiders looked to mount a furious comeback much like the Violets did in game one. Unfortunately, they were unable to mount such a comeback as they were only able to score one run on two hits.
The Scarlet Raiders return to action on Thursday when they travel to Madison, NJ to take on Drew University at 3:00 pm.
