The NYU softball team had a rough opening weekend, losing all four of its games in Cary, North Carolina in the season opening Triangle Grand Slam Classic.

The first game on Saturday featured the Violets against William Peace College of Raleigh where they were quickly down by two after the first inning. The Violets took to using strategy in the second though, as freshman utility player Claire Stefanelli laid down a bunt with runners on first and second, with sophomore Natalie Evans bringing junior Molly Webber home. That’s where the scoring ended for the Violets though, as they fell 5-1 thanks to a run from WPC in the third, and two more in the fourth.

Saturday’s second and final game was also a losing effort with the girls falling 4-2 to Greensboro College.

NYU got on the board first as freshman catcher Carina Sturm walked and scored via a Diana King RBI double. GC answered back in the fourth to tie things up at one, but NYU retook the lead in the bottom of the inning when sophomore Sage Scheiwiller got on base with a single and later scored on another single from Stefanelli. But the Violets wouldn’t get another across home, and GC scored a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh to cement the victory.

They hit the diamond again on Sunday against North Carolina Wesleyan College in an entertaining affair that ultimately ended in an 11-10 loss for the Violets. NYU got the first run with freshman infielder Dakota Damiani getting batted in thanks to a Scheiwiller double in the first inning.

After a scoreless second, NCWC got a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings to gain a hefty lead. In the fifth inning, there was an onslaught of action as NCWC scored five runs, and NYU got three, thanks to a double from Damiani that scored King as well as junior outfielder Marisa Bella. Webber then batted in Damiani for the third run of
the inning.

It seemed NYU could go ahead for good, putting up six runs in the sixth with RBIs from freshman Allyson Schmus, Scheiwiller, senior shortstop Kahala Bonsignore and Webber. But NCWC also got a run to tie things at 10. NCWC squeezed out the win with a run in the seventh inning to deliver NYU’s third loss of
the weekend.

The bad luck continued on Sunday, as the Violets lost their final game of the weekend to Wilson College 7-5.

NYU started out big, getting four runs in the first inning. King was the first run in, batted in by Scheiwiller. Damiani then got home when Webber hit a single, as Bonsignore went to second and Scheiwiller got to third, both of whom eventually scored to round out the NYU scoring in the first.

The next two innings were scoreless, but in the fourth, Wilson batted in two. NYU returned the favor in the sixth inning with Bonsignore batting in Damiani and Webber later batting in Scheiwiller. Wilson finished off the Violets with two runs in the seventh to nudge them to victory.

Hoping to regroup, the team has an extended break. They’re back in action on March 8 against Case Western Reserve University as the Univeristy Athletic Association Championship tournament begins in Florida. After a trying first weekend, players like King are focused on what’s ahead.

“I think we played really well for our first four games and were able to find ourselves as a team,” King said. “We’re definitely going to be ready for the conference tournament in Florida next week.”

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Feb. 29 print edition. Email Rachel Ruecker at [email protected].