GALLOWAY, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham softball team concluded the opening day of the ECAC Metro Tournament with a win and a loss on Saturday afternoon. The Devils dropped their first game to the top-seeded Stockton Ospreys 5-4 and then bounced back to defeat the Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders 6-0 in a win-or-go-home game.
Game 1 (Stockton 5, FDU-Florham 4)
The Devils were pinned up against the tournament's top seed, the Stockton University Ospreys, in the first round and they had to face the team's top starter, Samantha Shockey, who won 16 games this season. FDU-Florham was not fazed though and picked up 11 hits, scoring four runs.
Sophomore Rebecca DeCarlo went 3-for-4 with three singles while fellow sophomore Marlena Bevilacqua picked up a pair of hits, including a double. Senior catcher Wynne McCann was the third batter for the Devils to record a multi-hit game with two singles of her own.
The Devils got to Shockey in the third inning when the offense was ignited by a leadoff double to center by Bevilacqua. Following an RBI single by junior Paige Lillie, senior Nikki Caruso belted a single to left-center to become the program's single-season record holder for hits.
McCann was due up next in the order and after she reached safely on a single into right field, a run crossed the plate on a Taylor Torre RBI single through the left side to give FDU-Florham a 2-0 lead.
The bases remained loaded and freshman Courtney Rohde drew a base on balls to help the Devils plate another run. With still no outs in the inning, DeCarlo picked up her second hit of the game when she shot an RBI single into right field to push the Devils up by four runs.
FDU-Florham maintained its four-run lead until the bottom half of the fourth when the Ospreys scored their first run of the game. A second run was scored by Stockton in the sixth on a Holly Arentowicz solo home run to left-center.
Entering the final inning of play the Ospreys got a runner on base once Nicole Tomo doubled to left-center. She came around to score three batters later on a Danielle Lugo RBI single to right-center. The Ospreys then strung together three consecutive singles and were able to pick up the walk-off victory over the Devils.
Game 2 (FDU-Florham 6, Rutgers-Newark 0)
With a loss already in the tournament, the Devils needed to win to stay alive and they did just that when they shutout the Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders 6-0 in the second round.
Torre batted a perfect 4-for-4 in the game while Lillie picked up two hits in four at-bats. Sophomore Michelle Mangini recorded a pair of singles and drove in two runs. Senior Sydney Worek dominated on the mound and tallied her 15th win of the season by only allowing five hits and striking out two in a complete-game shutout.
The Devils wasted no time and once again grabbed the early lead over the opposition. After Bevilacqua reached base safely to lead off the game on a fielding error by the Scarlet Raiders', she stole second and later came around to score once Rutgers-Newark committed another fielding error.
There were two runners on for Torre and she rifled an RBI single to left field to give FDU-Florham a 2-0 lead. With two outs in the inning, DeCarlo blasted a two-RBI double to left field. The Devils added one final run in the first inning on a Mangini RBI single into right-center.
In the bottom of the fourth the Scarlet Raiders had their best scoring opportunity when the bases were loaded with two outs. However, Worek got out of the inning unharmed by striking out the next hitter.
The Devils maintained their five-run lead throughout the course of the game until the fifth, when Mangini picked up her second RBI of the game once she singled through the left side with two runners on base.
Worek made quick work of the Scarlet Raiders lineup the rest of the way and the Devils stayed alive in the ECAC Metro Tournament.
The Devils will be back on the field on Sunday, May 15 to take on Stockton University at 10 a.m. in Galloway, N.J.
