LORETTO, Pa. - The Monmouth University softball team swept Saint Francis University to open Northeast Conference play, winning 9-1 and 11-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Red Flash Softball Field. The Hawks, who have now won four of their last five games, improve to 7-9 and overall and 2-0 in the NEC, while SFU falls to 8-17 and 0-2 in the league.
The Hawks used big innings in both games to pull away from the Red Flash and win their first two league games of the 2010 season. In the first game, Monmouth University used a five-run fifth frame to propel it to the 9-1 win, while the Hawks tacked on six runs in the third inning in the second game to pace them to an 11-1 win.
"We needed to adjust to the pitching, so we did a lot of slap hitting that worked for us with some slap turning into hits," said Monmouth Head Coach Louie Berndt. "It was a total team effort today and we played defense behind out pitching."
In the afternoon's first game, which was delayed two and a half hours due to the field being wet, the Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth frame when senior Jessica Nicola (South Amboy, N.J. /Sayreville War Memorial) lifted a one-out home run over the left field fence. The home run was Nicola's 14th career shot, moving her into a fifth-place tie on the MU all-time list with her former teammate, Nichole Alvarez.
The Hawks used a five-run fifth to seize control of the first contest, which started when freshman Tish Derer (Philadelphia, Pa. /Saint Basil Academy) tripled home classmate Kate Kuzma (Freehold, N.J. /Colts Neck), who drew a one out walk. Junior Emily deLong (Rothschild, Wisc. /DC Everest) followed suit with a two-run homer to left, her third of the season and the 23rd of her career, to give Monmouth University a 4-0 lead.
Monmouth University was able to get a few more runs when senior Alexa Ferrara (West Caldwell, N.J. /James Caldwell) laced a two-RBI double down the left field line, plating freshman Christine Scherr (Nazareth, Pa. /Nazareth Area) and Nicola.
The Blue and White's bats then went silent until the seventh, when freshman Kayla Weiser (Vandergrift, Pa. /Kiski Area) came through with a double to right center with the bases loaded, bringing all three Hawks, Scherr, Nicola and Ferrara, home.
Junior Melissa Mehrer (Florence, N.J. /Florence Township) got the win in the first game, pitching a complete-game, five-hitter to improve to 4-5 on the year. She struck out four batters, without walking anyone, while inducing 14 groundouts.
In the nightcap, the Hawks used a six-run third, their biggest inning of the season, to take control. The Hawks used three singles and a double in the frame to take control of the second game of the day. MU added three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to seal the mercy-rule shortened win.
Weiser paced four Hawks who each logged two hits, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Scherr went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run, while Kuzma went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two runs driven in. Junior Dara Palms (Humble, Tex. /Humble) added a 2-for-3 day at the plate with two doubles, adding a RBI and two runs scored.
Sophomore Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio /Canfield) got the win in the circle, improving to 3-2 on the season. She pitched all five innings, giving up only two hits and an unearned run in the game.
Monmouth returns to action tomorrow when it visits Robert Morris for a 12:00 pm league doubleheader.
