Box Score
LEESBURG, Fla. – The Ramapo College of New Jersey softball team scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning without the ball leaving the infield to defeat Eastern Connecticut State University, 4-3, in the Warriors' season-opener Sunday afternoon at the Sleepy Hollow Softball Complex.
Eastern had tied the game, 3-3, with a run in the top of the sixth inning on two hits, a sacrifice bunt and a successful double steal before Ramapo (3-0) walked off with the win by scoring the winning run on two infield errors, a mental error, and an infield ground ball.
Eastern's second game of the day against the University of Scranton (5-2) was halted with one out and one on and the Warriors batting in the bottom of the first inning and trailing 4-0. The Royals scored their runs in the top of the first inning on three opening walks, two RBI singles and a sacrifice fly. The game will be picked up at the point of interruption Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Hancock Park in Clermont, FL.
Against Ramapo junior righty Kassy Stefanski (2-0) threw a complete-game six-hitter, striking out ten without a walk to outduel Eastern first-year righty
Elizabeth Mitchell (Coventry), who went the distance and had two singles while batting third in the order in her collegiate debut.
Eastern scored two unearned runs in the second inning on two infield errors, a bunt single by senior first baseman
Maggie Rubeck (Easthampton, MA) and a double steal but the Road Runners reached Mitchell for a run in the second on leadoff hitter Katie Rygiel's two-out RBI single and took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on pinch hitter Emily Ehrmann's two-run, two-out single.
Mitchell allowed eight hits while fanning three, walking three and hitting a batter. She got a strikeout on a full count to leave the bases loaded in the first to escape an early jam and got a standout defensive play diving to her left by senior second baseman
Maddi Sauve (Mansfield) to retire the first batter of the fourth with Eastern leading, 2-1.
Mitchell also had two infield hits and scored the tying run in the sixth when she stole home on Ramapo catcher Hannah Hensler's throw to second on the double steal attempt with sophomore leftfielder
Taylor Lathrop (Enfield) batting. Rubeck also had two hits, reaching on a bunt single, moving up on Lathrop's sacrifice bunt and scoring on the front end of a double steal with first-year rightfielder
Sam Healy (Cranston, RI) in the two-run second inning, and singling Mitchell to third when Eastern tied the game in the sixth.
The bottom third of Eastern's lineup was 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts.
Monday at Sleepy Hollow, Eastern faces SUNY College at Old Westbury at 1 p.m. and Worcester State University at 3:15 p.m.
