HACKENSACK, N.J. - The Monmouth University softball team swept a Northeast Conference doubleheader from Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday afternoon, winning 4-3 and 2-0, at the FDU Softball Field. The Hawks, who have now won five straight and seven of their last eight contests, improve to 10-9 overall and 5-0 in conference play, while the Knights fall to 7-19 and 1-5 in the league.
The Hawks rode a pair of solid pitching performances to sweep the twinbill, getting complete-game wins from junior Melissa Mehrer (Florence, N.J. /Florence Township) in the first game and sophomore Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio /Canfield) in the second contest.
"These were two great team wins," said Monmouth head coach Louie Berndt. "We played solid defense and executed at times. I was a little disappointed with our offense at times but we did get a big hit when we needed it."
In the first game, MU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning as junior Emily deLong (Rothschild,Wisc. /DC Everest) and freshman Christine Scherr (Nazareth, Pa. /Nazareth Area) each scored on FDU errors. The Hawks added another tally in the fourth when deLong's sacrifice fly drove in reigning NEC Rookie of the Week Kate Kuzma (Freehold, N.J. /Colts Neck), who had singled, to take a 3-0 lead.
MU stretched its lead to 4-0 in the fifth when freshman Kayla Weiser (Vandergrift, Pa. /Kiski Area) doubled to left center, plating senior Jessica Nicola (South Amboy, N.J. /Sayreville War Memorial), who singled. Fairleigh Dickinson cut the Hawks' lead to a single run in the bottom of the fifth when Kirsten Shreve connected on a three-run homer, but Mehrer made the 4-3 lead hold up.
Weiser (2-for-4) and junior Dara Palms (Humble, Tex. /Humble), who went 2-for-3, each collected a pair of hits in the first contest for the Hawks. Mehrer, who improved to 6-5 after winning her fifth straight start, allowed only two hits in the contest, striking out and three, but walking eight. She was the beneficiary of solid defense behind her as the Hawks didn't commit an error, piling up 13 ground ball outs.
In the day's second game, Sulick also only allowed a pair of hits in firing a complete-game shutout to improve to 4-2 on the season. She struck out six Knights, allowing only three walks in the contest.
The Hawks scored their first run of the second game in the top of the fourth when Palms executed a sacrifice bunt that scored Nicola, who had singled. An inning later, deLong drove in sophomore Chelsea Paprocki (Manassas, Va. /Forest Park), who singled, with a double.
Scherr was the lone Hawk to record a multi-hit game in the second contest, going 2-for-3 out of the #2 spot in the batting order.
Monmouth University returns to action on Wednesday when it visits Seton Hall for a 3:30 pm doubleheader in South Orange.
