UNION, N.J. (3/23/17) – Senior Emily Sabo swiped the 64th base of her career as the No. 18 Kean University softball team improved to 13-1 with a sweep of FDU-Florham on Thursday. The scores in the games were 8-0 (in 5) and 4-3.
Game One
Caroline Ratti (pictured left) scored runs in each of the first three innings for Kean, and would have scored a fourth run on Rizo's game-ending single if scoring rules hadn't prevented it from being recorded. She was 2-for-2 in the game and was also hit by two pitches.
Cayleen Rizo and Jacqueline Riley started the scoring with a pair of RBI doubles in the opening inning – Rizo's hit halfway up the leftfield wall. Kean tacked on two more in the second with the RBIs coming from Sabo and Rizo.
Cougar starter Shannon McMahon, meanwhile, was perfect through three innings and allowed just one earned run and four hits in the game to move her record to 7-0 on the year. It was her third shutout of the season.
Kean exploded for five runs in the third to put the game away. Amanda Berezny, Sabo and Rizo all knocked in runs as the Cougars took a 9-0 lead.
FDU scored two runs to trimmed the Kean lead down to seven as the game went to the bottom of the fifth. Olivia Zengel led off the fifth with a single, Ratti also singled before Rizo delivered the coup de gras with an RBI single.
Game Two
Kean starter Taryn DiGiacomo carried a perfect game into the fifth inning, and went on to earn the win in game two that was not as close as the final score may suggest. Dana Knapp socked a three-run home run in the bottom of the first to stake Kean to a 3-0 lead.
Sabo made a few great catches, ranging to both her left and right in the second inning to take away Devil hits. One inning later, Rizo made and excellent over-the-shoulder grab on what looked like a sure single over shortstop.
Berezny made a remarkable stop on a screamer at third to keep the perfect game intact in the fifth. Zengel then ran down a line drive down the leftfield line for the second out of the frame, but FDU finally broke up the perfect game with two down.
Rizo, Knapp and Riley cranked hard base hits in the fifth to add another run for Kean.
DiGiacomo had a shutout into the seventh. The Devils were feisty enough to score three runs, but the freshman hung on for the 4-3 victory.
Kean will continue its season-long homestand on Sunday with two games against Frostburg State University beginning at noon.
