Box Score (Game #1)
Box Score (Game #2)

NEWARK, N.J. – Sophomore third baseman Ana Abourashed (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) went a combined 6-for-8 with eight RBI, two home runs and a triple as the William Paterson softball team (13-5, 2-0 NJAC) opened its New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) slate with a 7-1 and 9-1 sweep of Rutgers-Newark (8-10, 0-2 NJAC) at Newark's Alumni Field March 31.

The Pioneers got a five-hit, five-strikeout pitching performance from junior Diana Schraer (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) in the opener, and a seven-hit, two-strikeout effort from freshman Danielle Ballard (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) in the nightcap. Neither righthander walked a batter.

Abourashed, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI in each game, blasted a towering three-run homer over the left-field fence in the top of the seventh of game one to close out the scoring. In game two, she led off the fifth inning with a shot over the left-center fence. In the sixth, she hammered a two-run triple to right field before scoring on a single by freshman Christine Zippler (Blackwood, N.J./Washington Twp.). Zippler and sophomore catcher Meghan Reilly (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) each went 3-for-4 in the game.

The Pioneers received five votes (30th) in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 Poll.

William Paterson will host DeSales for a twinbill Sunday, April 1, at 11:00 a.m.