Four Ravens collect single hit each

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (March 28, 2009) – Senior pitcher Nina Cesare (Whitestone, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) threw a perfect game in the first contest on Saturday afternoon as New York Institute of Technology swept the Franklin Pierce University softball team in a non-conference doubleheader at NYIT Softball Complex. Franklin Pierce was defeated by 8-0 scores in five innings in each of the two games.

NYIT got things started in the first game with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Junior right fielder Anna Hernandez (Tucson, Ariz./Desert View) led off with a double down the left-field line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. After senior center fielder Brilynn Fields (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest) worked a walk, a double steal from first and third netted the Bears their first run of the game. Two batters later, junior catcher Lisa Boystak (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) knocked a two-run home run to give NYIT a 3-0 lead.

The Bears pushed the lead to 4-0 with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Senior left fielder Lia Lara (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic) led off with an infield single to third base, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Boystak later followed with an RBI groundout back to the pitcher to plate the run from third.

NYIT added four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to create the 8-0 final. The game was ended via the eight-run rule on an RBI single to shortstop by sophomore first baseman Marissa Brucculeri (Albertson, N.Y./Herricks).

Senior Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) started in the circle and took the loss (2-4) for Franklin Pierce. Over 4.1 innings, she gave up eight runs on seven hits, walked four, hit a batter and struck out two.

Cesare tossed a perfect game to pick up the win (6-6) for NYIT. Over five innings, she struck out 10 of the 15 batters she faced.

In the second game, NYIT opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Lara reached on an infield single, stole second and came around to score on a double down the left-field line by Fields.

The Bears would make it a 2-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the second. Senior shortstop Ashley Gosk (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) led off with a single down the left field line and moved to second when senior second baseman Lauren Sabia (Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells) followed with an infield single to shortstop. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up, Gosk would score from third on a passed ball.

NYIT pushed the lead to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. With one out, Fields singled to left field, took second on a wild pitch two batters later and came in to score on a double to center field by junior catcher Justine Clifford (Ozone Park, N.Y./St. Francis Prep). Gosk followed with a double of her own down the left-field line to drive home Clifford.

NYIT later added four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to post its second 8-0, five-inning victory of the day. The second game ended on a two-run single by Sabia.

Offensively for Franklin Pierce in the second game, freshman pitcher Jessica Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y./Thousand Islands) hit her first double of the season, while three other Ravens recorded one single apiece.

Wiley took the loss (2-2) in the circle for Franklin Pierce in the second game. Over 4.1 innings, she gave up eight runs on 12 hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch and struck out one.

Freshman Michelle Rapp (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) threw the second game for NYIT and picked up the win (9-5). Over five shutout innings, she gave up four hits, walked one and struck out three.

The Ravens (4-8, 0-0 Norteast-10) return to the field on Tuesday, March 31, when they travel to Massachusetts Lowell for a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at River View Field in Lowell, Mass. Franklin Pierce returns home for a doubleheader against Saint Anselm at 3 p.m. on April 2. NYIT (18-11, 0-0 East Coast) returns to action on March 31 at home against Bridgeport.