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

WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (20-7-1) reached the 20-win plateau, breezing past visiting Staten Island (15-10), 10-6 and 9-4, for a softball doubleheader sweep April 15. Junior Heather Mendez (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) was a combined 5-for-7 at the plate with four runs scored and two RBI to lead the Pioneer offense.

GAME ONE
The Dolphins crossed the plate twice during their first at-bat, but it was the Pioneers who seized control with seven runs in the bottom of the second inning and held on for a 10-6 victory.

Back-to-back doubles by Raechel Strobel and Kaitlyn Flynn scored the first run for Staten Island, and a two-out Danielle Ponsiglione base hit to left field made it a 2-0 score in CSI's favor.

That lead, however, was short lived, as William Paterson answered with two scores during the home half of the first. Sophomore lead-off hitter Raquel Roder (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) reached on an error, followed by a Christina Zippler (Blackwood, N.J./Washington Twp.) single and a flyout. Mendez then scored Roder with a base hit to right field, and a Jenna Vitale (Kenilworth, N.J./David Brearley) sacrifice fly plated Zippler and tied the score.

The Pioneers ended any doubt about the game's outcome with a seven-run second inning. Roder delivered junior Nicole Jimmerson (North Bergen, N.J./High Tech) with a RBI-single, Zippler plated junior Jillian Mulderig (Sewell, N.J./Washington Twp.) with a bunt single, and junior Lindsey Nadolny (Belford N.J./Middletown North) cleared the bases with her three-run homer down the right-field line. Senior Lacey Santone's (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) RBI-single and junior Samantha Koenig's (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) run-scoring double ended the inning with a 9-2 score.

Each side added a single run during the fourth frame, with CSI scoring thanks to a RBI-groundout off the bat of Kristy Dillon, and William Paterson using a Jimmerson run-scoring base hit.

Two singles to start the top of the seventh were followed by a Strobel double, making it a 10-4 score. Flynn followed with a two-bagger, the Dolphins' fourth straight hit and enough to plate two more runners. Starting pitcher Michele Graham (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) re-entered the contest and promptly retired three of the next four batters to end the threat and the game.

Jimmerson was 3-for-3, drove in a run and scored once, while Roder and Zippler each went 3-for-4 at the dish with a RBI and two runs scored. Nadolny was 2-for-4, including her three-run homer, and Mendez and Koenig each contributed a pair of hits.

Graham (11-6) tossed the first 2.0 innings before recording the final three outs, allowing a total of two runs on four hits in 3.0 innings. Roder made her first collegiate appearance inside the circle, pitching the middle 4.0 frames.

Strobel was 3-for-4 for the Dolphins, hitting two doubles, driving in a run and crossing the plate twice herself. Flynn went 2-for-4 and added three RBI. Ponsiglione fell to 12-4, surrendering 10 runs (eight earned) on 18 hits over 6.0 innings of work.

GAME TWO
Two runs in the bottom of the third broke a 4-4 tie and eventually led to a 9-4 William Paterson victory during the day's second contest.

Staten Island once again struck right out of the gates, scoring three times in the top of the first. Dillon led off with a single, was sacrificed to third and scored after a Flynn base knock to left. Junior Joanna Tepedino (then hit a two-run home run to right, making it a 3-0 Dolphin edge.

William Paterson fought back to plate four runs during the bottom half of the first. Zippler singled and Nadolny walked with one out, and Mendez followed with a RBI-single through the left side. After a groundout, Vitale bombed her second home run of the season over the left-field fence, a three-run round-tripper for the Pioneers.

The Dolphins knotted the score with a Strobel second-inning run-scoring double, but Santone hit her team-leading sixth home run to left-center, a two-run shot for a 6-4 WP edge after three innings.

Mendez sprinted home after Santone blasted a double off the wall in right-center, making it a 7-4 count in the fifth. William Paterson tacked on two more runs during the home half of the sixth via a Roder RBI-groundout and a Zippler run-scoring single to third base.

Mendez was 3-for-3, had a RBI and scored three times. Santone and Vitale both went deep, and each finished 2-for-3 with three RBI. Zippler added a 2-for-4 performance.

Graham again started but was lifted after the Pioneers took an early lead. She pitched 1.0 inning, giving up three runs and four hits. Freshman Jaclyn Masterson (Park Ridge, N.J./Park Ridge) earned her first victory (1-0), allowing just one run on three hits over 6.0 innings, striking out four without issuing a walk.

Strobel was 2-for-2 and drove in a runner to pace the Dolphins. Sophomore Michelle Ferraiuolo suffered the loss (2-7), allowing 10 hits and nine runs (seven earned) in 6.0 innings.

William Paterson will return to action Saturday, April 17, at No. 9 The College of New Jersey at 1:00 p.m.