From NYU Athletics
The New York University softball team split a doubleheader with Case Western Reserve University in its University Athletic Association (UAA) season debut on Saturday, April 8, in Cleveland, OH.
The Violets (11-7, 1-1 UAA) won the first game 5-1, but fell to the Spartans (12-9, 3-4 UAA) 4-3 in the nitecap.
Diana King led off game one with a double and eventually scored on Dakota Damiani's sacrifice fly.
NYU added three runs in the second on RBI singles from Allyson Schmus and Jacqueline Finn, and a RBI groundout by Rachel Fulton.
After Case Western scored its only run in the bottom of the second, the Violets scored their final run in the top of the fourth on Finn's RBI double.
Karissa Zubulake went the distance for NYU, allowing only four hits and one walk while striking out three. She leads the Violets with five wins (5-2) this season.
"Karissa pitched really well and came up big for us," said Head Coach Now-Allah James.
In the second game, it was Case Western who got out in front, scoring twice in the third inning and once each in the fourth and fifth.
Trailing 4-0, the Violets finally put runs on the board in the top of the sixth inning. Ashley Mains' single and Claire Stefanelli's groundout each resulted in RBIs as NYU cut its deficit in half.
In the seventh, Schmus led off with a single. Then, with one out, pinch hitter Carina Sturm's double plated pinch runner Morgan Clemens. However, King followed with a fly out and Finn grounded out as the Violets' rally fell short.
"I thought we played well today," James explained. "We just took too long to get going in the second game."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES:
Game 1
- King went 2-for-4 with a stolen base.
- Stefanelli finished 3-for-3, scoring two runs and stealing a base.
Game 2
- Cassi Parulis started for NYU, going five innings and allowing eight hits. Katherine Piorkowski pitched a scoreless inning.
- King again went 2-for-4 while scoring a run.
"UAA games feel a bit different. You have to play almost a perfect game to win," James said. "Every UAA game is tough."