EWING, N.J. (May 7, 2021) – During the regular season, the Rutgers University-Camden softball team was one of  only two New Jersey Athletic Conference teams to defeat The College of New Jersey, splitting a doubleheader with the Lions on April 13.
 
It was a different story here Friday when the two teams battled on the opening day of the best-of-three NJAC quarterfinals. TCNJ senior pitchers Eliza Sweet and Alanna Namit held the Scarlet Raptors to only five hits all day, tossing a pair of shutouts to knock the Raptors out of the playoffs with a 10-0 and 2-0 doubleheader sweep.
 
Second-seeded TCNJ (19-3) will host a conference semifinal series Tuesday and Wednesday, while the Scarlet Raptors end their season at 9-14.  
The Lions pounded out 14 hits and scored in all four of the innings they batted on the way to a 10-0 game that was called in the middle of the fifth inning.
 
While the TCNJ offense was piling up runs, Sweet was tossing a two-hit shutout, allowing only singles in the third inning by freshman third baseman Danielle Quinones and senior pitcher Sarah Byrnes. Sweet (7-2) walked one and struck out six.
 
The Lions scored the only runs they needed in the first inning on two walks and two singles. Freshman catcher Julia Mayernik singled home one run and sophomore second baseman Jaclyn Carifi plated another with a ground out.
 
The Lions scored three more times in the second inning on four hits, aided by a RBI single from senior left fielder Allie Immerso and a two-run double by senior third baseman Lauren Conroy.
 
Immerso and freshman shortstop Julia Kinnally both went 3-for-3 in the game, with Immerso scoring three times and driving home one run, while Kinnally scored twice and collected two RBIs.
 
Byrnes (9-11) took the loss, allowing nine hits and six earned runs in three innings. She walked two and struck out one. Sophomore Rachel White hurled the fourth inning for the Scarlet Raptors, allowing five hits and four earned runs.
   
In the second game, Byrnes (9-12) scattered seven hits and three walks, while striking out four. She allowed only two earned runs, but Namit (8-1) hurled a three-hit shutout. She walked one and struck out nine.
 
The Lions scored the only run Namit needed in the fifth inning when junior designated player Victoria Aspiazu and senior first baseman Elyse Nardozza started the frame with back-to-back singles. After a sacrifice moved them into scoring position, senior center fielder Katie Winchock delivered a sacrifice fly to center field.
 
The Lions tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning on a leadoff home run from Conroy.
 
Nardoza went 3-for-3 to lead the TCNJ attack. The Raptors collected only three singles off Namit, getting hits from the first three hitters in their order, senior shortstop Nina Arroyo, junior center fielder Kimmy Musarra and Byrnes.