COLLEGE STATION, Tex. ? The Monmouth University softball team kicked off the 2009 season with a 9-0, five-inning win over Texas Southern at the Texas A&M Invitational on Friday afternoon. The Hawks scored in every frame in the contest en route to winning the season's first game for the second straight year.
MU got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when senior Lee Simonetti (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes) started the season with a double down the left field line. She came around to score on senior Nichole Alvarez's (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) single up the middle, giving Monmouth a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks tacked on two runs in the second inning on senior Candice Palumbo's (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) two-run double. Freshman Chelsea Paprocki (Manassas, Va./Forest Park) led off the frame with her first collegiate hit and advanced to third after a groundout and flyout. Simonetti walked and stole second and both runners came around on Palumbo's two-bagger. Sophomore Emily deLong (Rothschild, Wisc./DC Everest) led off the third inning with a double to left center and junior Alexa Ferrara (West Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) singled to bring her around with Monmouth's fourth run. After advancing to third base on a throwing error, Ferrara was chased home by a Paprocki sacrifice fly to give the Hawks a 5-0 lead.
Alvarez led off the fourth inning with a single and stole second. Pinch-hitter Dara Palms (Humble, Tex./Humble) drove in the senior from Brick with a single to the left side and came around to score herself two batters later. Paprocki drove in deLong with a single to conclude the Hawks scoring.
Senior Kristine Sawlsville (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson) pitched three hitless innings to earn her first win of the season. She struck out four batters, only walking one in the game. Sophomore Melissa Mehrer (Florence, N.J./Florence Township) pitched the final two innings, surrendering only one hit and striking out three.
In the second game of the afternoon, the Blue and White took a 1-0 lead on the 21st-ranked team in the country, Texas A&M, but ultimately fell 5-1.
Monmouth struck first in the top of the fifth inning when Paprocki reached based on a fielding error and then moved over to second on a wild pitch. Freshman Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) contributed her first collegiate RBI on a single to center to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The Aggies answered back in the bottom of the inning with five unearned runs off Sawlsville, who was tagged with the loss. In her second start of the day, the senior pitched five innings and allowed five runs on four hits.
The 1-1 Hawks, who started the season on the earliest date in program history today, return to action tomorrow for a doubleheader rematch with Texas Southern and #21 Texas A&M. First pitches are slated for noon and 2:30 p.m.
