The William Paterson Pioneers opened conference play with a doubleheader loss to Stockton University, falling 9-1 and 6-2.
The losses dropped William Paterson to 6-9 overall and 0-2 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, placing the Pioneers in a tie for last place early in conference play.
In Game One, senior center fielder Brandi Shortway reached on a walk and advanced to second on a line drive from freshman second baseman Gianna Capone. Junior third baseman Megan Tinger followed with a single up the middle, scoring Shortway to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. That would be their only run of the game.
Stockton responded in the bottom of the first inning and took control from there, shutting down William Paterson offensively. Sophomore pitcher Aubrey Miller started and held steady through three innings, but after allowing five earned runs, she was relieved.
The turning point came on a three-run home run by senior left fielder Caitlyn Cetrulo. Two batters later, junior third baseman Alexa Panagopoulos added an RBI double to extend the lead.
Senior pitcher Kylie Anthony, who entered with an ERA under 2.00, allowed three runs over the final three innings as her ERA rose to 2.56.
Stockton carried that momentum into Game Two, where freshman pitcher Mackenzie Crowe struggled, surrendering five earned runs.
The Ospreys opened the scoring on a sacrifice fly from Cetrulo, bringing home sophomore leadoff hitter McKenna George. In the second inning, a William Paterson fielding error plated another run, and George later scored on a fielder’s choice to extend the lead.
Panagopoulos delivered again in the fourth inning with a two-run single to center field. After a wild pitch allowed another run to score, William Paterson coach Kathy Hill turned back to Miller in relief to limit further damage.
The Pioneers showed late life when senior left fielder Lilah Guthy lifted a sacrifice fly to score junior Molly Cocco, a former Stockton player. Shortway later stole home to add another run, but the rally came too late as William Paterson failed to score in the seventh inning.
Junior pitcher Lexi Liquori threw a complete game for Stockton in Game Two, striking out six and allowing just three hits, with two coming in the final innings.
Stockton improved to 15-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play and will face Rowan University, ranked No. 10, in a matchup between two of the NJAC’s top teams on Tuesday, March 31, at 2:30 p.m.
William Paterson fell to 6-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play and will travel to Rutgers University–Newark looking to earn its first conference win and move closer to the .500 mark as well as on Tuesday, March 31, at 3:00 p.m.
