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

CAMDEN, N.J. – William Paterson (23-12-1, 8-6 NJAC) kept pace in the race for a bid to the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Softball Tournament with a pair of one-run wins at Rutgers-Camden (18-13, 5-9 NJAC), 3-2 and 5-4, April 24. With four regular-season games remaining, the Pioneers are in fifth place in the league standings and are looking to secure one of the six bids available for the conference tourney.

GAME ONE
Senior Christina Zippler's (Blackwood, N.J./Washington Twp.) fifth-inning RBI-single proved to be the difference as the Pioneers began the day with a 3-2 victory.

The Scarlet Raptors struck first, using two singles and a wild pitch to create a 1-0 lead during their first at-bat, but junior Lindsey Nadolny's (Belford N.J./Middletown North) ground-rule double plated classmate Heather Mendez (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge), and a Zippler single and Camden error later scored junior Jenna Vitale (Kenilworth, N.J./David Brearley), handing the Pioneers a 2-1 advantage.

Two base hits and a WP error were enough to tie the score during the home half of the fourth. However, Vitale hit a two-out double and was lifted for pinch runner Allyson Scerbo (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg), who raced home after Zippler's base hit to center field in the fifth for the go-ahead score.

Zippler was 2-for-3 and Mendez finished 2-for-4 at the plate. Sophomore Michele Graham (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) improved to 13-9, scattering seven hits over 7.0 innings, striking out nine and allowing two runs (one earned).

GAME TWO
Rutgers-Camden hit a three-run homer during the top of the seventh to get within one, but William Paterson got out of the inning to preserve a 5-4 second-game win.

The Scarlet Raptors again got on the scoreboard during the first inning, this time thanks to a leadoff single and a throwing error on a sacrifice attempt. The Pioneers did not respond until the bottom of the fourth, when Nadolny started the frame with a walk, was sacrificed to second and scored via a Zippler base hit. After an error and a wild pitch, Zippler crossed the plate on a single to center by senior Casey Sierra (Ringwood, N.J./Lakeland Regional), making it a 2-1 score.

WP added three important runs during its next at-bat, as Vitale doubled in sophomore Raquel Roder (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) and senior Lacey Santone (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) blasted her eighth home run of the year, handing the Pioneers a 5-1 edge.

With two on and two out during the top of the seventh inning, Steph Skroski belted a three-run home run to make it a 5-4 game, but freshman Jaclyn Masterson (Park Ridge, N.J./Park Ridge) got the next batter to fly out to Nadolny at second base to end the contest.

Sierra was 3-for-3 with a RBI, accounting for nearly half of the Pioneers' eight hits. Masterson (2-1) gave up four runs (three earned) and seven hits in 7.0 innings inside the circle.

The Pioneers will host Rutgers-Newark Tuesday, April 27, at 3:00 p.m.