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

WAYNE, N.J. – DeSales (17-15) earned a pair of one-run, comeback softball wins at William Paterson (21-12-1), 9-8 in 10 innings and 5-4, on April 22. The two teams combined for seven home runs and 43 total hits during the afternoon doubleheader at Pioneer Softball Field.

GAME ONE
Trailing 5-2 heading into the top of the sixth inning, DeSales rallied for a 9-8, 10-inning victory.

Kerri Andrews led off the game with a double to center field and was sacrificed to third before Jen Lococo sent a pitch over the wall in left, a two-run homer to give DeSales the early advantage.

William Paterson answered right back during the home half of the same frame as junior Heather Mendez (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) drew a leadoff walk and senior Lacey Santone (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) launched her team-leading seventh home run of the year to left, knotting the score at 2-2.

The Pioneers pulled ahead with three runs during the bottom of the third. Three straight walks loaded the bases, and after a fly ball for the inning's first out, junior Jenna Vitale (Kenilworth, N.J./David Brearley) hit a two-run single to left. Sophomore Raquel Roder's (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) single loaded the bases, and after a pitching change and a strikeout, a wild pitch allowed all the runners to advance, including Lindsey Nadolny (Belford N.J./Middletown North) from third, for a 5-2 advantage.

Sophomore Michele Graham (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) was cruising, retiring 12 straight batters, until the top of the sixth when the Bulldogs surged ahead with four runs. Junior Kate Steiner drilled a two-run homer to left and junior Kristin Schultz plated two more with a double, making it a 6-5 score.

DeSales tacked on a single run after Andrews tripled and Lococo knocked her in with a seventh-inning single, extending the Bulldogs' lead to two runs. That would be an important run, as the Pioneers struck twice to tie the contest during the bottom half of the inning. With one out and a runner on first, senior Christina Zippler (Blackwood, N.J./Washington Twp.) hit a liner down the line that the first baseman caught but then had it come out of her glove, a potential game-ending double play that instead was just a single out at first base. The next batter, Vitale, took advantage of the opportunity, blasting her fourth home run of the season and tying the game at 7-7.

Each team scored once during the eighth via sacrifice fly, DeSales thanks to Kristen Cybularz and the Pioneers via freshman Alexa Veniero's (Belleville, N.J./Belleville) flyout.

The Bulldogs went down in order in the ninth, while William Paterson had the bases loaded with one out, but two groundouts forced another extra inning.

Steiner was placed at second base to start the top of the 10th, and Lococo promptly scored her with a single back up the middle. The Pioneers tried to answer, eventually getting runners on second and third with two outs, but a final grounder ended the threat.

Lococo was 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, while Andrews went 3-for-5 and crossed the plate three times for DeSales. Katie Morrissey started inside the circle, pitching 2.1 innings and giving up five runs on four hits. Sophomore Christina Petrilla earned the win (4-2), tossing 7.2 innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits.

Vitale was 2-for-5, including a home run, with four RBI to lead the Pioneers. Graham (12-9) pitched a total of 6.2 innings, surrendering nine hits and seven runs (six earned). Freshman Kelsey Hand (Mountainville, N.Y./Cornwall Central) tossed the middle 3.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits.

GAME TWO
The Bulldogs' four straight runs allowed DeSales to finish the sweep with a 5-4 victory.

Nadolny tripled in Mendez, and Zippler singled in Nadolny, for a 2-0 score after one inning. DeSales tied it with a Schultz two-run homer during its next at-bat, and added single runs during the fourth, sixth and seventh frames, including a solo shot by Schultz for her second round-tripper of the contest, to pull ahead by a 5-3 count.

William Paterson started the bottom of the seventh with a Santone double, followed by a Nadolny drive into the gap in left-center. Santone scored on the play, but Nadolny was thrown out trying to stretch her double into a triple, a play that would end up costing the Pioneers the tying run. Vitale singled to left field, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and moved to third base on a Zippler groundout, but the Pioneers' rally ended with a strikeout.

Schultz was 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBI. Cybularz was 2-for-3 with a double. Lococo improved to 6-6, allowing four runs and 11 hits while striking out eight in 7.0 innings.

Nadolny led the Pioneers with a 2-for-4 effort, adding two RBI. Veniero and Allyson Scerbo (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) each added a pair of hits. Samantha Koenig (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) hit a solo home run over the fence in left-center during the bottom half of the sixth. Freshman Jaclyn Masterson (Park Ridge, N.J./Park Ridge) gave up eight hits and four runs in 6.0 innings. Vitale pitched the seventh, allowing two hits and one run.

The Pioneers will play a league doubleheader at Rutgers-Camden Saturday, April 24, at 1:00 p.m.