UNION, N.J. (4/9/11) – Senior catcher Nicole Scarillo was 5-of-7 and rookie left fielder Sandra Binkiewicz added three hits and five RBI as the Kean University softball team split with Richard Stockton College in a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. 

In a rematch of last season's NJAC Championship Round, the Cougars (7-13, 5-1 NJAC) won the opener, 9-4, behind a complete game from senior right-hander Courtney Smyth, before Richard Stockton (11-9, 1-3 NJAC) earned the split by hanging on for the 7-5 win in the nightcap. 

During the doubleheader, the Cougars also celebrated Friends of Jaclyn day and prior to the games, the Kean softball team presented Friends of Jaclyn founder Denis Murphy with a check for $2,500.  The Cougars raised the money over the last year to support efforts to improve the quality of life for children with pediatric brain tumors and their families. 

GAME ONE: Second-Inning Runs Power Kean in Opener, 9-4

The Cougars plated seven runs in the second inning and Smyth (pictured left) scattered seven hits and five strikeouts in the complete game victory, as Kean won the opener, 9-4.

After Richard Stockton took a 2-0 lead after the first two innings on a two-out, solo homerun by right fielder Katelyn Derewecki in the first inning and a Kean miscue in the second inning, the Cougars sent 11 batters to the plate in bottom of the second, scoring seven runs on four hits and four walks. 

With the bases loaded, freshman designated player Kelly Moorehead cut the deficit in half when she scored on a wild pitch from third base and sophomore third baseman Courtney Melchionna tied the game at 2-2, scoring on the bases loaded walk to junior Alicia Banz.  Second baseman Katie Schuh followed with another bases loaded walk to give the Cougars the lead for good, before Binkiewicz cleared the bases with a double to left center field.  Scarillo followed with her team-leading fifth double of the season to score Binkiewicz for the 7-2 lead. 

The Opreys got a pair of runs back an inning later on a two-run homerun by third baseman Danielle Accardi to pull to within 7-4.

Kean tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when senior centerfielder Lindsay Kennedy hit her first career homerun with the two-run homer off the scoreboard in left field.

Scarillo was 2-of-3 with one RBI, while Melchionna added a pair of hits and a pair of runs and Binkiewicz added three RBI.

For the Ospreys, Accardi had two hits, two RBI and one run scored, while Derewecki scored twice.

GAME TWO: Kean Rally Falls Short as Ospreys Hang on For 7-5 Win

The Cougars nearly rallied from a six-run deficit, as they pulled to within 6-5 before falling to the Ospreys in the nightcap, 7-5.

Trailing 6-0, the Cougars cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth inning, as Banz (pictured left) had a two-run homerun to left field and Scarillo added a RBI single to score Schuh, who had singled.

An inning later, the Cougars tacked on two more runs on a two-run single by Binkiewicz and Kean had the go-ahead run on first base before Osprey pitcher Jamie Gasko got out of the inning with the groundout. 

The Ospreys added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning with the RBI single by third baseman Arianna Donzuso, before closing out the game with the tying run at the plate.

Richard Stockton scored one run in the bottom of the first inning on a RBI single by Donzuso and extended the lead with four runs in the second and a single run in the third inning. 

In the bottom of the second inning, a single, hit batter and walk loaded the bases for Derewecki, who delivered with a single up the middle to drive in second baseman Danielle Kohen and centerfielder Jessica Goncalves.  A walk loaded the bases for Donzuso who drove in another run with the sacrifice fly and Derewecki scored the final run of the inning for the 5-0 lead.

Gasko (2-0), who went the distance with six strikeouts, helped out her own cause in the bottom of the third with the sacrifice fly for the 6-0 lead. 

In the win, Donzuso was 2-of-3 with three RBI, while Kohen was 3-of-3 with two runs scored. 

For the Scarillo was 3-of-4 with one RBI, while Binkiewicz added two hits and two RBI and Banz finished with two hits, two runs and two RBI.  Kean tied its season-high with 14 hits, as Schuh, Kennedy and freshman Megan Cegielski each added two hits. 

The Cougars host Moravian College in a non-conference doubleheader on Sunday, April 10, in a rematch of last season's NCAA Regional Championships.