WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson softball team (13-15, 5-7 NJAC) split a non-conference doubleheader with Lehman College (7-13, 0-4 CUNYAC) April 18 at Pioneer Softball Field. The Pioneers shutout Lehman 7-0 in the opener before falling 4-3 after eight innings in game two. 

GAME ONE
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• In the second inning, junior Hailey Backo (Wallington, N.J./Wallington) reached on a bunt single before eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by freshman Allison Stein (Hewitt, N.J./West Milford). WP went ahead 2-0 after Stein crossed home on a sacrifice fly from senior Kylie Bythrow (Deptford, N.J./Deptford). The Pioneers loaded the bases with two outs before junior Brandi Shortway (Midland Park, N.J./Midland Park) drew a base on balls to push across the third run of the frame.
• The Pioneers extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth when seniors Lauren Hutchison (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) and Courtney Schwark (Port Ewen, N.Y./Kingston) led off with back-to-back singles before Shortway recorded an RBI singled to center to make it 4-0.
• With a pair of Pioneers in scoring position in the sixth, junior Taylor Palmieri (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) notched a two-RBI single to right. Palmieri then moved to third on a double from Backo and came home on an RBI base hit by freshman Abigail Goetz (Township of Washington, N.J./Westwood Regional) to push the advantage to seven (7-0).  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Shortway finished 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and a run scored.
• Hutchison batted 2-3 with two runs scored.
• Palmieri delivered one hit, drove in two runs and scored a run.
• Backo, sophomore Samantha Campos (River Edge, N.J./River Dell), and senior Lilah Guthy (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) each crossed home.
• Schwark reached base in all three plate appearances with two hits and a walk.
• Goetz and Stein each chipped in with an RBI and a base hit.  

GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Pioneers struck early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Hutchison singled to left center and scored on an RBI double to center by Hutchison.
• In the bottom of the second, WP loaded the bases and a costly error by Lehman allowed a run to cross to extend the Pioneers' lead to two (2-0).
• Lehman responded in the top of the sixth, plating two runs to even the score at 2-2.
• In the eighth inning, with a runner automatically placed on second, the Lightning scored two more runs to go ahead, 4-2.
• In the bottom half of the inning, Goetz started off on second and advanced to third on a Palmieri groundout. Schwark grounded out, but Goetz scampered home to trim the deficit to one (4-3).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Hutchison finished 3-for-5 and crossed home once.
• Acker batted a perfect 3-for-3.
• Goetz went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
• Schwark and Backo each drove in a run.

UP NEXT:

• WP will travel to Rutgers-Camden for a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) doubleheader Saturday, April 19, at 1:00 p.m.

 
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS:

• http://www.wpupioneers.com/socialmedia