WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University softball team swept a nonconference doubleheader from Lehigh, winning 10-4 and 5-4 in nine innings, on Wednesday afternoon at the MU Softball Park. The Hawks, who improved to 7-1 at home this season with the two wins, have now won 12 of their last 13 games and are 17-10 on the season.
"I'm glad we came out hitting today, we did some good things on the bases and we were very aggressive," said Monmouth head coach Louie Berndt. "Our pitching was good also. We beat a really good team today and I'm really excited because I think that's going to give us momentum heading into the weekend."
The Hawks pounded out a season-high 16 hits in the first game, paced by three apiece from freshmen Christine Scherr (Nazareth, Pa. /Nazareth Area) and Kayla Weiser (Vandergrift, Pa. /Kiski Area), en route to the 10-4 win. In the second contest, MU needed a tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning from freshman Tish Derer (Philadelphia, Pa. /Saint Basil Academy), who led off the frame with a triple, to eventually win it in the ninth.
MU jumped all over the Mountain Hawks in the first game, taking a 6-0 lead after three innings. With Monmouth up 7-0 in the fifth, Lehigh's Julie Fernandez connected for a three-run homer to cut the Hawks lead to four. Junior Emily deLong (Rothschild, Wisc. /DC Everest) answered for MU in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run inside-the-park homer.
Scherr, the reigning Akadema/Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, went 3-for-5 in the first game with a run batted in and two runs scored, while Weiser went a perfect 3-for-3 with 2 RBI's and two runs scored for the Hawks. deLong went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs driven in, including her fourth homer of the year.
Senior Jessica Nicola (South Amboy, N.J. /Sayreville War Memorial) went 2-for-5 with a triple and a double, adding two runs scored, while classmate Alexa Ferrara (West Caldwell, N.J. /James Caldwell) added a 2-for-4 day at the dish with a run and a RBI. Sophomore Chelsea Paprocki (Manassas, Va. /Forest Park) went 2-for-3 with a run driven in.
Junior Melissa Mehrer (Florence, N.J. /Florence Township), the reigning Akadema/NEC Pitcher of the Week, won her ninth-consecutive start to improve to 10-5. She went the distance, allowing seven hits and four runs, while striking out three and walking six.
In the second game, Lehigh took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh, setting up Derer's clutch lead-off, extra-base hit. MU won the contest in the bottom half of the ninth when Scherr scored on a throwing error by Lehigh's left fielder after Weiser had singled.
MU hurler Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio /Canfield) earned the win in the circle to improve to 7-3 on the season. She pitched all nine innings, surrendering 11 hits and four runs, striking out a career-high 13 batters while walking three.
deLong went 2-for-4 with a RBI in the second game, while Derer enjoyed a 2-for-4 second contest with two runs scored.
Monmouth returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Quinnipiac in a NEC doubleheader at 1:00 pm.
