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

WAYNE, N.J. – Sophomore Christina Zippler's (Blackwood, N.J./Washington Twp.) game-winning, seventh-inning RBI-single helped lead the William Paterson softball team (11-5, 2-0 NJAC) to a doubleheader sweep of visiting Rutgers-Newark (3-15, 0-2 NJAC), 5-4 and 12-2 (five innings), in the Pioneers' home and New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener March 29.

With runners on first and second with one out, Zippler ripped a single up the middle and scored pinch runner Kat Wehmann (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan), giving the Pioneers the 5-4 victory in the first game of the day.

The Scarlet Raiders struck first during Game One, scoring a single run in the top of the first when Jessica Zelaya led off with a double, was sacrificed to third and scored on a wild pitch. That lead, however was short lived, as junior Ana Abourashed (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) blasted a two-RBI double to left-center in the bottom of the first, and freshman Ashlie Gaynor (Berlin, N.J./Eastern) launched her first career home run over the fence in left-center during the second inning, giving the Pioneers a 3-1 edge.

Neither team was able to push another run across the plate until the top of the fifth, when Rutgers-Newark posted three scores to take a 4-3 lead. Sophomore Elena Morge hit a two-run homer to left-center, and Ashley Angeli singled in Charlotte Labate. However, Abourashed had an answer in the bottom of the sixth, belting her first home run of the season over the 220-foot sign in center field and evening the score at 4-4.

Zippler was 3-for-4 with the game-winning RBI, and Abourashed was 2-for-3 with a double, home run and three RBI for William Paterson. Zelaya was 3-for-4 with a double to lead Rutgers-Newark, while Labate and Angeli each had a pair of hits for the Scarlet Raiders.

Sophomore Danielle Ballard (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) picked up the victory in relief (1-1), scattering three hits and striking out four in 2.2 scoreless innings. Senior Diana Schraer (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) threw the first 4.1 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs (three earned) while registering three strikeouts. Junior Carrie McGuire suffered the loss (0-5), giving up 10 hits and five earned runs in 6.1 innings.

The Pioneers wasted little time taking control of the second game of the day, scoring three times in the top of the first. A pair of errors plated Nicole Jimmerson (North Bergen, N.J./High Tech) and Zippler, and Stephanie Simonetty's (Denville, N.J./Mount Saint Dominic) single drove home Lindsey Nadolny (Belford, N.J./Middletown North).

Labate's single to center field scored Zelaya for a 3-1 score in the bottom of the first, but William Paterson tacked on three more runs on four hits and an error in the third. Simonetty's single through the left side of the infield was the only run-scoring hit of the inning, as Rayna Caruso (Madison, N.J./Madison) was able to sprint home on a wild pitch, and Simonetty later crossed the plate due to an error by the shortstop.

McGuire drove home Shauna Gallagher with a single in the bottom of the third, but that would be the final run of the day for the Scarlet Raiders. William Paterson finished the contest with six unanswered scores. Junior Kelly Apgar (Andover, N.J./Lenape Valley) scored Jimmerson with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and RBI-singles from Tara Perez (Sparta, N.J./Sparta), Jimmerson and Zippler ignited a five-run fifth for the Pioneers.

Zippler was again 3-for-4 for WP, scoring three runs and driving in another. Simonetty was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Jimmerson was 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored. Four different Scarlet Raiders accounted for the four Rutgers-Newark hits.

Freshman Kerrie Mascarelli (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills) improved to 2-1, giving up four hits and two earned runs in her 5.0 innings inside the circle for the Pioneers. Jess Murray suffered the loss (1-5), allowing 13 hits and 12 runs (six earned) over 4.0 innings.

The Pioneers will host Rowan in a NJAC doubleheader Tuesday, April 1, at 3:00 p.m. Rutgers-Newark will host Montclair State for a pair April 1 at 3:00 p.m.