Galloway, N.J. – 19th-ranked Stockton University (24-6) suffered a pair of setbacks in a non-conference doubleheader against Swarthmore College (26-8). The Ospreys fell 4-1 in the first game and then 4-3 in eight innings in the second game.
Casey Sokol (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) went 2-2 for half of Stockton's four hits in the opener.
Emma Coldsnow (Yorktown, Va./Tabb) reached base twice with a hit and a walk.
Swarthmore scored twice in the fourth inning and then doubled their total on a two-run homer by Elisabeth O'Connor in the sixth stanza.
Stockton broke the shutout in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch-runner
Sienna Smith (Freehold/Freehold Twp.) replaced Coldsnow, who walked. Smith stole second and later scored on an RBI groundout by
Evangelina Kim (Egg Harbor Twp./Atlantic Christian).
Lexi Liquori (Union/Union) pitched a complete game and tied her season high with seven strikeouts but was outdueled by Swarthmore pitcher Lilly Goldberg, who hurled a four-hitter.
In the nightcap,
McKenna George (Centennial, Colo./Eaglecrest) went 2-3 with a stolen base and
Caitlin Cetrulo (Caldwell/Caldwell) was 2-4 with a run.
Cetrulo scored an unearned run in the third inning for a 1-0 edge, but Swarthmore tallied one run apiece in the fifth and sixth frames for a 2-1 count. Smith scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth. Cetrulo singled in the bottom of the seventh but was stranded on third, and the game went to an extra inning.
The Garnet scored twice in the top of the eighth to make it 4-2. In the bottom half, an RBI groundout by
Cassie Stallwood (Flemington/Hunterdon Central) got Stockton within 4-3. George singled with the potential tying run to second base, but the runner was thrown out at home to end the game.
Sokol, the starting pitcher, allowed just one run on four hits in five innings of work, however she was not involved in the decision. Emilee Espinoza went 3-4 with an RBI for Swarthmore.
Stockton will be home again on Saturday for a crucial NJAC doubleheader against Ramapo that starts at 1:00 p.m. The Ospreys are tied for first place with Rowan, while the Roadrunners sit just one game behind.