Montclair, NJ – Junior rightfielder Christine Desiderio (Babylon, NY / Babylon) collected an inside-the-park home run and finished with six runs batted in as The College of New Jersey swept its NJAC doubleheader over Montclair State at the MSU Softball Stadium on Friday afternoon.

Jess Stevenson (Belmar, NJ / Red Bank Regional) had a three-run homer as the Lions edged the Red Hawks 3-2 in the opener before scoring eight runs in its final two at bats for an 11-5 win in the nightcap. The victories vaulted TCNJ (19-8) into second place in the NJAC heading into the final contests on Saturday.  New Jersey moved a half-game in front of Ramapo as those two will meet on Saturday, April 25.

Freshman ALANA LUNA (Wayne, NJ / Wayne Hills) belted a solo home run for Montclair State, which fell to 13-19 overall, 5-11 in the NJAC as the Red Hawks were eliminated from the NJAC Tournament race with the double defeats.

Desiderio gave TCNJ ta 1-0 lead in the first game slicing an RBI double to left in the second inning. Montclair tied the game in the fifth as Luna laced a ball over the right-centerfield fence for her second of the season knotting the game at 1-1. The Lions however regained the lead in the sixth inning as pitcher Ashtin Helmer (Succasunna, NJ / Roxbury) doubled scoring Steph Vuono (Voorhees, NJ / Eastern) with the go-ahead run. Desiderio followed with an RBI single giving the Lions a two-run advantage.

Montclair battled back within a run in its half. BRIANNA DAVIDSON (Monroe Township, NJ / Monroe Township) doubled home BROOKE POWERS (Newton, NJ / Pope John XXIII) making the score 3-2 and with the bases loaded MSU nearly got the equalizer with two out as SOPHIA IVEZAJ (Fairview, NJ / Cliffside Park) grounded a ball to first that hit off Stevenson and rolled toward second base. Bria Bartsch (Montville, NJ / Mt. St. Dominic Academy) was able to scoop up the carom and just get Ivezaj for the final out.

The Red Hawks put the tying run on first in the bottom of the seventh as LAUREN GUILLEN (Secaucus, NJ / Secaucus) led off with a single to left. Reliever Sam Platt (Cedar Grove, NJ / Mt. St. Dominic Academy) got the next two outs however MELANY ZELLER (Bloomfield, NJ / Bloomfield) singled. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch but Platt fanned the next hitter to preserve the win for TCNJ.

Helmer got the victory as she went the first 5 2/3 innings allowing four hits and two runs (one earned). Helmer (8-4) struck out six and walked three before Platt came on to record her fourth save.

Desiderio was 2-for-3 while NOEL HODGINS (Paramus, NJ / Paramus) went 2-for-4 at the plate for Montclair State.

TCNJ would grab a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the second contest but the Red Hawks tied the game in the third as Powers doubled scoring Guillen and Hodgins. The Lions went back in front in the fourth with a two-out rally that paid off when Bartsch singled scoring Madison Levine (Oakland, NJ / Indian Hills) for the 3-2 lead.

The Lions broke the game open in the sixth with six runs. Desiderio plated two with a double down the left field line and Stevenson blasted a three-run home run for a 9-2 TCNJ advantage. Desiderio capped her day the next inning with and inside-the-park round-tripper down the left field line.

Montclair State got three runs back in the seventh for the final margin. Davidson drove in a run with a base hit.

Katie Hourihan (Neptune, NJ / Neptune) got the victory to improve to 9-4. She gave up five runs (three earned) and 11 hits with three strikeouts and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. Powers suffered the loss as she dropped to 11-15 on the year.

Bartsch, Desiderio and Levine all had three hits apiece for the Lions, who banged out 14 in the game. Guillen, Hodgins, Luna and MELISSA RUSTEMEYER (Colonia, NJ / Colonia) all had two hits each for Montclair State.

MSU will head to Union, NJ on Saturday for its final conference contest as Montclair takes on Kean at 1:00 pm.