The Kean University softball team kicked off their new season on Tuesday, February 25, against the Muhlenberg College Mules in a doubleheader at the Cougars’ home field at Kean University in Union, New Jersey.
What seemed like a promising two games for the Cougars did not go as planned. They suffered losses in both games, and while they were not terrible losses, they weren’t very close games, either.
Nikki Panza was the starting pitcher for game one of the double-header.
In the first few innings, Muhlenberg scored six runs. This included a three-run homerun in the first and a solo in the second.
From then on, things only got worse for Kean. The Mules scored in almost every inning and did not go scoreless until they got to the last inning of the first game which ended in the fifth due to the NCAA’s run rule.
The Cougars barely scored anything in the first game. It wasn’t until the second inning that outfielder Brianna Sciulli finally was able to get something on the board for Kean.
Only two other runs were scored throughout the rest of game one by Gina Mahlik and Andee Perseponko who notched RBIs in the second inning. However, it didn’t do anything to get the Cougars the win that they needed in the first game of the season.
The upside of of game one was that certain freshmen had their first career hits in this game. Mahlik got to make her debut and recorded a double for her first collegiate hit. It was exciting for everyone who was playing and came to watch the game.
Game one ended with a final score of 11-3 in favor of the visitors.
As game one came to an end, the Cougars took a small break and were ready to come back and play better than before.
Game two played out much better than the first game. It was much closer in score.
Kean played smarter in game two than they did in game one. There were fewer mistakes and they were able to have the ball make contact with one another on each play.
The game started scoreless as both teams held each other at bay.
Four Cougars came across the plate during the fourth inning. Emma Lecour, Sam Niewiarowski, Natalie Stannard, and Kiley Allen each touched home as Mulehnberg made mistakes on the field.
Muhlenberg scored three during the fourth inning also. The Mules pulled off back-to-back RBI doubles in the fifth and sixth innings which eventually led to Kean falling in game two.
Maya Thompson had the chance to win the game in the seventh inning but she hit a pop fly that was caught at the wall to end the game.
Game two ended in a 5-4 loss for Kean.
The Cougars have a long season ahead of them and they will move forward from these first two games. It will not be easy to bounce back from these first wo losses, but they know where they need to make the changes on the field.
