UNION, N.J. (4/9/15) – In a rematch of last year's NCAA Regional final, the Kean University softball team topped Lebanon Valley College in a pair of two run games – 3-1 and 7-5 – on Thursday night. The Cougars improved to 14-5 on the year while the Flying Dutchmen are now 6-16.
Game One
Lebanon Valley loaded the bases with one out in the first inning despite not getting the ball out of the infield. But Yard struck out the Dutchmen's five- and six-hitters to escape the jam and record strike outs on all three outs in the first.
Cayleen Rizo (pictured left) started the game for Kean with a bouncing single up the middle, and made her way to third with one out after productive plate appearances by Emily Sabo and Emily Bissonnette. Looking to drive in the run, MacKenzie Valeriani lifted a deep flyball down the leftfield line that was run down by Tessa Deardorff, but plenty deep enough to score Rizo for the game's first run.
LVC had three hits to start the third inning, but the Cougars ran into some good luck when Sammy Bost's RBI double rolled under a gate in leftfield for a ground-rule double. That kept a run off the board, as Yard struck out the next two and got a popup to escape with the game tied.
The Cougars went back ahead in the home half of the inning on a Valeriani 2-RBI single she ripped down the thirdbase line, scoring Sabo who had walked and Rizo who reached on a fielder's choice.
After allowing the run in the third inning, Yard asserted herself and retired the last 15 Dutchmen in a row. She finished with 11 K's and is now 9-2 on the year.
Game Two
As the second game began, Kean starter Stephanie Gilbert struck out two and stranded two runners in the first inning for the Cougars.
In the bottom half of the first frame, Sabo reached base for the fifth-straight time and scored when Valeriani's two-out drive just missed going over the left-centerfield fence. Valeriani had to settle for a long RBI single but still gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
Gilbert pitched well in the first three innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four Dutchmen in that stretch.
Leading off the third for Kean, Rizo lifted a 2-2 pitch over the 10-foot leftfield wall for her third homerun of the season. The solo shot doubled the Cougar lead to 2-0.
Facing a new pitcher in the fourth inning, Kean got a pair of two-RBI doubles by Bissonnette and Kayla Parker to temporarily blow the game open. Brooke Ennis, Rizo and Sabo also had hits in the inning as Kean went up 6-0.
The Cougars added a final run in the sixth, when Bissonnette led off with a double and came around to score an unearned run.
Elaine Gross had a solo shot of her own in the fifth and Lebanon Valley made it interesting with four runs in the seventh, but Gilbert left the bases loaded with the aid of a diving catch by Ennis in centerfield for the final out.
Rizo, Bissonnette and Sabo all hit .500 in the two games, and Sabo reached base a total of six times. Parker finished with a team-high four RBIs. Gilbert earned the complete-game victory with a career-high six strikeouts and is 5-2 on the year.
Kean (14-5) will remain home and host undefeated No. 5 Rowan University in a Saturday NJAC doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
