MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Freshman third baseman Vanessa Cardoza (Santa Ana, Calif./Ocean View)
went 3-for-6 with a pair of solo home runs, including the game-winning blast as
the Monmouth University softball team split with defending Northeast Conference
Regular Season Champion Robert Morris on the road, Saturday afternoon. The
Colonials took Game 1, 5-2, before the Hawks evened the series with a 3-2 Game
2 victory. With the split, the Hawks move to 11-9 (3-3 NEC), while the Colonials'
record now stands at 17-13 (4-2 NEC).
Freshman pitcher Alissa
Schoelkopf (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) went the distance in the circle in
taking the Game 2 win. She allowed two earned runs while scattering seven hits
and four walks, striking out six. Christine Scherr (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth
Area) also added three hits, including a home run, and a team-best three RBI's.
Chelsea Paprocki (Manassas, Va./Forest Park) and Colleen Kelly (Tallmadge,
Ohio/Tallmadge) also added 2-for-6 performances.
Game 1 starter Jordan Barnett
(Eads, Colo./Eads [Garden City C.C.]) was chased after 2.1 innings pitched, as
the Colonials scored four runs, three earned, on seven hits. Barnett struck out
two. Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) went the remaining 3.2 innings in relief,
limiting Robert Morris to one earned run on three hits and four walks the rest
of the way. Sulick struck out three.
In Game 1, the Colonials
immediately jumped out on top with two runs in the bottom of the first. Jessica
Calderone led off with a single, before Jaci Timko's one-out single put runners
on first and third. After Timko stole second base, Sarah Capp singled in
Calderone for the game's first run. Timko then came in to score on a throwing
error to give the Colonials the 2-0 lead after one inning of play.
Robert Morris added another pair
of runs in the fourth on Capp's two-run home run to make it 4-0. The Hawks cut
the deficit in half on home runs from Scherr and Cardoza in the fifth and sixth
innings, respectively. But the Colonials added an insurance run in the bottom
of the sixth to hold on for the 5-2 victory. Robert Morris pitcher Nicole
Sleith went the distance in the circle, allowing two earned runs on eight hits
and one walk, while striking out 10.
After two scoreless frames to
begin the game, the Hawks opened the Game 2 scoring in the third inning.
Paprocki led off with a single, before Scherr's double to right center drove in
Paprocki. The Colonials drew even in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk with
nobody out. But Schoelkopf settled down to strand the remaining three base
runners with two strikeouts and a popout.
Paprocki again started a
rally in the fifth, doubling to left center before moving to third on a flyout.
She then scored on Scherr's single through the left side to give Monmouth a 2-1
lead. Robert Morris again evened the score in the bottom of the fifth on Tess
Apke's double to left center.
Cardoza delivered the
decisive blow in the top of the sixth, leading off the inning with a home run
to left center. Schoelkopf limited the Colonials to one hit over the final two
innings to close out the 3-2 victory.
The Hawks return to action Sunday,
when they continue play in Western Pennsylvania at Saint Francis (Pa.). First
pitch of the NEC doubleheader is scheduled for 12 p.m. in Loretto, Pa.
