UNION, N.J. (4/1/15) – The No. 24 Kean University softball team won the first night game in program history 9-6 over Rutgers-Newark after dropping the heartbreaking opener of the doubleheader to Scarlet Raiders 4-3 on Wednesday.
Freshman Cayleen Rizo swatted two homeruns for the Cougars in the first game of the day.
Rizo wasted no time getting going and led off the first game for Kean with a deep homerun to straightaway centerfield that landed amidst the Cougars' batting cages. It was the first homerun of the freshman's career.
Kean surrendered an unearned run in the fourth inning to tie the game; Toniann Donde and Kayla Gallo got hits and pushed a run across with the help of a pair of passed balls in the frame.
Alexis D'Aloisio (pictured left) led off the home half of the inning with her second basehit of the game, but was stranded on third as the game stayed knotted up into the fifth.
In the sixth inning, Rutgers loaded the bases with just one out. But starter Courtney Yard got two big strikeouts to end the frame and keep the game tied.
In the home half of the inning, Tiffany Varriello beat out an infield single to put the go-ahead run on base with one out. Then, with two down, Rizo launched a 1-0 offering straight into the wind in leftfield and over the scoreboard for a majestic two-run homerun.
It marked the 10th time in school history that a Cougar has hit two homeruns in a game. The last time was when current Kean coach Kelly Moorehead swatted two against Rowan in 2012.
But Rutgers-Newark was able to score three runs in the seventh (two unearned) to come away with the 4-3 victory. Yard took her first loss of the season, though she struck out eight and allowed just one earned run. Kelly Yusko earned the win for the Raiders; the only runs she allowed were on Rizo's bombs.
The second game – the first night game in school history – was a wild affair. Newark built a 4-1 lead after three innings on the back of three Kean errors.
But in the fourth inning, the Kean offense roared to life and scored five runs on seven hits as the team batted around. The Cougars pounded the ball all over the park in game two: Emily Sabo, Kayla Parker, and Varriello all had doubles and Kacie Worswick had a pair of two-baggers in the game. Varriello was 3-for-3 and added a triple that made six of the Cougars' dozen hits go for extra bases in the nightcap.
After the offensive outburst, pitcher Stephanie Gilbert was rewarded with her third win of the season. She pitched all seven innings and only used 81 pitches; 58 of them were strikes.
Seven Cougars had hits in game two and six different players drove in at least one run. Parker, Worswick, Varriello and Brooke Ennis – Kean's 5-6-7-8 batters – scored two runs apiece.
The Cougars will play again on Thursday in a home doubleheader against Centenary College beginning at 3 p.m. The games were moved to Union from Hackettstown.
