SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Monmouth University softball team swept Bryant University in Northeast Conference action, winning 3-2 and 5-2, on Thursday afternoon at the Rhode Island school's Softball Complex. The Hawks improve to 28-16 overall, and 15-4 in the NEC, with the pair of wins, while the Bulldogs fall to 8-37 on the year and 4-16 in the league.
MU received a pair of complete-game wins from its two starting pitchers, with junior Melissa Mehrer (Florence, N.J. /Florence Township) winning the first game and sophomore Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio /Canfield) coming out on top in the second contest.
The Hawks took the lead in the first game when senior catcher Jessica Nicola (South Amboy, N.J. /Sayreville War Memorial) launched a two-out solo homer to center in the top half of the first frame. The home run was her team-leading seventh of the season.
Bryant came back to tie the contest in the bottom of the third, but the Hawks struck for two runs in the sixth to seize control of the game. Back-to-back sacrifice flies from freshman Kayla Weiser (Vandergrift, Pa. /Kiski Area) and senior Alexa Ferrara (West Caldwell, N.J. /James Caldwell) scored junior Emily deLong Rothschild, Wisc. /DC Everest) and Nicola, respectively, to give MU the lead.
Mehrer improved to 16-8 on the season with the win, allowing only four hits while striking out five and walking two. Nicola went 2-for-2, adding a stolen base to go along with her homer in the first game win. deLong logged the only other hit for the Hawks in the first contest with a sixth-inning triple to right center.
In the second game, the Blue and White took a 2-0 lead after one as Weiser had a RBI-double and classmate Kate Kuzma (Freehold, N.J. /Colts Neck) had a RBI groundout in the frame. Bryant responded with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first to cut the Hawks lead to one.
Sophomore Colleen Kelly (Tallmadge, Ohio /Tallmadge) furthered the MU cause with a two-out, RBI double in the third, plating Kuzma, to increase visitor's lead to 3-1. Freshman Tish Derer (Philadelphia, Pa. /Saint Basil Academy) plated Kuzma, who doubled, with a RBI groundout in the fifth, while Monmouth's lead was increased to 5-1 after Kuzma drove in Weiser with a single in the sixth. BU would add one more run in the seventh, but Sulick would close the door and give the Hawks the sweep.
Kuzma went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs in the second game. deLong went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two doubles in the win, while Weiser added a 2-for-4 performance with two doubles, a RBI and a run scored. Sulick allowed five hits, striking out six and walking two, to improve to 12-6 on the season. Of the 21 outs she recorded, 12 were fly outs.
For the latest scheduling information for the Monmouth University softball team, which clinched a berth in the upcoming NEC Tournament, please check back to www.GoMUHawks.com.
