WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? The Monmouth University softball team fell 8-3 to Rutgers in nonconference action on Wednesday afternoon. The Hawks, who have now dropped five straight games, fall to 12-20-1, while Rutgers improves to 18-24.
The Hawks jumped out in front of the Scarlet Knights 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning when Abby Martin (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) walked and came around to score. RU tied the contest in the top of the second inning, and took the lead in the third when they struck for two runs. After tacking on another run in the fourth, the Scarlet Knights exploded for four runs in the sixth to take control, 8-1.
Monmouth added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning as Nichole Alvarez (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) singled and stole second with two outs and Martin walked, which set the stage for freshman Emily deLong (Rothschild, Wisc./DC Everest), who laced a two-run triple to right field.
Four Hawks pitchers saw action in the game, with freshman Dara Palms (Humble, Tex./Humble) collecting the loss to fall to 2-3 on the season. She pitched 1.2 innings, giving up two hits and two runs, one of which was earned. Kristine Sawlsville (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson) started the contest, pitching 1.1 innings, giving up one hit and one unearned run. Martin pitched two innings, giving up two hits and one earned run and Melissa Mehrer (Florence, N.J./Florence Township) pitched the final two innings, giving up four hits and four earned runs.
deLong went 2-for-4 in the game, while Nora Bosmans (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township) went 1-for-3. Alvarez went 1-for-3 with a stolen base, while Jessica Nicola (South Amboy, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) went 1-for-2. Jaime Jurewicz (Holland, Pa./Nazareth Academy) added a base hit for the Hawks as well.
The Hawks return to action on Saturday, April 19 when they travel to Moon Township, Pa. for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader with Robert Morris.
Earlier in the day, the NCAA released their official statistics, and MU's Alvarez's name peppers the top 25 in four categories. Entering play today, she ranked sixth in the country in stolen bases per game (0.77) and 16th in on-base percentage (.532). The junior also places 18th in batting average (.441) and 23rd in the runs scored per game (0.93).
