The Muhlenberg softball team opened its 2024 season with a 2-1 loss at Kean in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader.

The second game was rained out in the second inning.

The Mule offense struck quickly in the opener, needing only two batters to plate the first run of the season. Senior Sophia Cicchetti, who set a school record with 7 triples last year, picked up right where she left off, hitting a three-bagger to open the game.

Sophomore Scooter Hulsen followed with a sharp single to right to give Muhlenberg a quick 1-0 lead.

The Mules did not score again, however, and Kean tied the game in the bottom of the first and scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth.

Junior Justine Bergara pitched the first five innings, allowing only 4 hits and one earned run. She got big outs to end the inning with the bases loaded in the first, third and fifth.

Cicchetti made her mark on the second game before Mother Nature made the lasting mark. She led off the game by drawing a walk and eventually stole second and home, and in the second inning she drove a pitch over the fence in right for a home run, although none of the stats from the game will count.

pictured above: junior Ava Calabrese (left) and freshman Peri Kahn (right) after Kahn drove in Calabrese with a squeeze bunt in the second game