COLUMBUS, Ga. (3/12/16) – The No. 24 Kean University softball team dropped two games at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic on Saturday against Birmingham-Southern College and Piedmont College. The scores were 6-2 and 6-1, respectively.
The biggest highlight of the day for the Cougars came in the first game, when Dana Knapp chopped the Panthers' 3-0 lead down to one with a two-run dinger to straightaway centerfield. It was her team-leading third homerun of the season. But BSC scored three runs in their next turn at bat to squash any momentum Kean might have manufactured.
Olivia Zengel had the only Cougar RBI against Piedmont in the nightcap. Katie Garbarino started the third inning with a walk and pinch runner Tonianne DeMatteo came around to score on the play.
Freshman Samantha Krakower earned the start in the second game after going 2-for-2 at the plate as a defensive replacement in the opener. Krakower (pictured left) had another hit against Piedmont to got 3-for-5 on the day with her first three collegiate hits. Amanda Berezny was the only other Cougar to have more than one hit over the two games.
Kean will continue play in the NFCA Leadoff Classic Bronze Bracket on Sunday to wrap up their spring break trip. The Cougars will tangle with Fontbonne University at 9 a.m. tomorrow, with another game possible at 1p.m. if Kean wins.
