BOX SCORE (Game #1)
BOX SCORE (Game #2)

CLERMONT, FLA. – The William Paterson softball team (4-2) rolled past New Paltz (0-5), 12-3 in six innings, March 18 at the NTC Spring Games in Clermont, Fla., after nearly upsetting No. 1 Luther (6-1), dropping a 6-4 decision.  

GAME ONE
The Pioneers rallied late but could not overcome the nation's top-ranked team and its five early runs.

The Norse got on the board with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first, and tacked on two more in the second with a pair of doubles and a RBI-single.

WP crossed the plate in the top of the fourth.  Sophomore shortstop Katelyn Miele (Flanders, N.J./Pope John XXIII) led off with a single, followed by walks for senior outfielder Raquel Roder's (Hoboken, N.J./Hoboken) and senior third baseman Jessica Maciolek (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert).  Freshman catcher Rebecca VanderBrink (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Pompton Lakes) reached on a catcher's interference, forcing Miele in from third.

Luther got an unearned run in the home half of the fourth, but the Pioneers answered with a pair of fifth-inning scores.  Three straight walks started the frame, followed by run-scoring singles off the bats of Miele and Roder.

Three base hits, the last by sophomore pitcher Rachel Cannata (Waldwick, N.J./Paramus Catholic), provided the final WP run in the sixth.

Freshman first baseman Jessica Phillips (Woolwich, N.J./Kingsway Regional) was 2-for-3 and scored a run, and Miele went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored.

Senior Michele Graham (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) fell to 1-1, surrendering five runs (four earned) on five hits in 1.0 inning.  Cannata tossed the final 5.0 frames, giving up five hits and an unearned run.

GAME TWO
William Paterson scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to end its game against New Paltz an inning early, 12-3.

The Hawks put together a pair of singles and a double to strike first with two runs in the top of the second inning.  Junior pitcher Kelsey Hand (Mountainville, N.Y./Cornwall Central) ignited the Pioneer offense with a one-out double in the home half of the frame and was replaced by pinch runner Mandy Muraca (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place).  Miele tripled her in, and scored herself on an error by the catcher.

WP scored three more times in the fifth.  Leadoff hitter Maciolek reached on an error, freshman left fielder Kelsey Principe (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany) bunted for a hit, and sophomore pinch hitter Danielle Capozzi (Wanaque, N.J./Lakeland Regional) doubled in Maciolek.  Phillips later singled in Principe, and a Hand base hit drove in Capozzi to hand the Pioneers a 5-2 advantage.

New Paltz crossed the plate once in the sixth, but a two-run Cannata single and a two-RBI Roder double helped WP drive in seven runs during the bottom of the inning.

Miele was 3-for-4 with a double, triple, two RBI and a pair of runs scored.  Roder finished 2-for-3 with a two-RBI double, Principe was 2-for-3 and scored twice, and Phillips went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs.

Hand (2-0) allowed seven hits and three runs in 6.0 innings inside the circle, striking out three, and was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double.

The Pioneers will play No. 3 Eastern Connecticut State at 9:00 a.m. and Kalamazoo at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 21.