By Joseph Caruso
Staff Writer
The Lions’ softball team honored their seniors on Saturday, April 26, including Rachel Alecci, Julia Roessler, McKayla Yard, Julia Kinnally and Kaci Neveling in their sweep against William Paterson, extending their win streak to a season high seven games.
In yet another hot start for the College, they jumped out early with three runs in the bottom of the first, and would score in all four innings before the game ended 11-0, with sophomore pitcher Maya Knasiak allowing just one hit en route to her 14th victory of the season.
Knasiak finishes with an 8-1 record and 1.92 ERA in games against the New Jersey Athletic Conference, with no other pitcher in the conference finishing with more wins than her. She is one of five Lions to be named to an All-NJAC team.
Kinnally and Yard combined for five RBI, with junior Camryn Kitchin batting in three runs of her own. Kinnally was a combined four for seven with four RBI in the two games, adding to her stellar season.
Kinnally was named NJAC Player of the Year, her second time taking home the award. She led the league with 23 RBI in NJAC play, along with posting a blistering OPS of 1.356, good for the highest among qualifying players in the conference. Kinnally becomes just the second player in program history to be a two-time conference player of the year.
In the second game, Neveling and Yard combined for three RBI in another dominating win. Junior pitcher Elizabeth Gosse pitched four innings, conceding just one run, and Roessler came in for three innings in relief, allowing just one Pioneer to reach base.
Yard and Neveling also took home first-team All-NJAC honors, with Neveling making her fifth straight all-conference appearance, boasting a career .411 batting average. Gosse was named to the second team, earning all-conference honors in all three seasons.
The College’s 15-3 conference record is good enough for second in the NJAC, earning themselves a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Third-seeded Ramapo will be their opponent after they bested sixth-seeded Montclair State.
The Lions are 1-1 against Ramapo this season, and they’ll head to Kean, a neutral site, to try and defeat the Roadrunners on Saturday, May 3, to advance to the NJAC Championship.
