WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- The Monmouth softball team partook in the Norfolk State University Tournament today. Bad weather postponed the tournament from Saturday and Sunday to today and Monday.
The Hawks faced off against host Norfolk State Spartans and the Delaware State Hornets. Monmouth started the day with a 12:00 matchup against the Spartans, and took the game with a dominating 10-0 win. Senior Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) pitched a five-inning, no-hitter complete game, tallying six strikeouts and two walks. Junior Shannon Fitzgerald (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) opened the day with being walked by Spartan pitcher Jamie Schulle. She progressed around the bases by a single from junior Kaitie Schumacher (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) and a drawn walk from senior Kayla Weiser (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area). Fitzgerald was able to score on a wild pitch.
Senior Christine Scherr (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) drew a walk from Schulle, prompting a pitching change to Liz Riley for the Spartans. Off of a groundout by sophomore Kayleena Flores (Atwater, Calif./Buhach Colony), Scherr advanced to second, Weiser to third and Schumacher crossed the plate to give the Hawks an early 2-0 lead before the inning was over.
The second and third inning was a scoreless effort for the Hawks before coming alive in the fourth inning. Flores started the inning off with a successful bunt, senior Kate Kuzma (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) drew a walk, and junior Alicia DeSanto (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) landed on base with a fielder's choice to the pitcher. With the next at-bat, Fitzgerald reached base on a fielder's choice to the shortstop. DeSanto moved to second, Kuzma to third and Flores scored. The inning ended on a Schumacher groundout, though Monmouth took a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.
After a strikeout and two groundouts behind Sulick's pitching, the Hawks took over the fifth inning with a barrage of runs. Weiser kicked off the inning with a single, and Flores drew a walk. After a Scherr fly out, Weiser reached second on a Flores walk, and sophomore Vanessa Cardoza (Santa Ana, Calif./Ocean View) reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on the throw, pushing Flores to third and Weiser home. Kuzma stepped up to the plate and drilled a three-run home run to center field, giving the Hawks a 7-0 lead on one out.
Kuzma's home run prompted the Spartans to bring Schulle back on the mound to relieve Riley. DeSanto was hit by a pitch and Fitzgerald tallied a single. Freshman Jill Freese (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area) came into the game to pinch hit for senior Tish Derer (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) and reached base on a fielder's choice, pushing DeSanto to third. Derer returned to the game and advanced to second on a Schumacher walk. Weiser singled up the middle, advanced to second on the throw, Schumacher made it to third, and both Derer and DeSanto scored. Schumacher then scored on the next at-bat, a Scherr single to left field. The inning ended on a Flores fly out, and after three consecutive Spartan groundouts, the Hawks secured their first win of the season.
The second game, played at 4:40 p.m., did not yield double-digit runs, but Monmouth still came out on top against the Hornets. Senior pitcher Jordan Barnett (Eads, Colo./Eads [Garden City C.C.]) tallied four strikeouts, one walk and one earned run in a complete seven innings. Fitzgerald kicked off the second game with a single up the middle. Derer hit a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to second, and Schumacher was walked. Fitzgerald scored from second on a Weiser single to second base, giving the Hawks their second first-inning run of the day. The inning ended on a Scherr double play that got her and Schumacher out.
The second inning was scoreless for both the Hawks and the Hornets. DeSanto started the third inning off with a single to left field. Derer blasted a triple down the right field line, bringing DeSanto home and pushing the lead to 2-0. This led to a Delaware State pitching change from Stephanie Sarris to Rachel Meagley, who finished off the inning by getting both Schumacher and Weiser out. The Hornets showed signs of life in the bottom of the fourth inning when Kelsey Doherty homered to left field, cutting the lead to 2-1. The inning ended on a behind-the-plate foul-out to Weiser.
The Hawks' offensive power reemerged in the sixth inning with singles from Weiser and Flores. Cardoza fired off a one-out home run over left center, bringing about the third pitcher to the mound for the Hornets. Pitcher Ashley Bennett ended the inning by getting both Kuzma and DeSanto to ground out. The bottom of the sixth and the entire seventh innings saw three up and three down for both teams, giving the Hawks a 2-0 record on the day with.
Designated as the home team for the final game of the night, the Hawks took the field at 7 against host Norfolk State. Freshman pitcher Cerissa Rivera (Westminster, Calif./Fountain Valley) took the mound and pitched the Hawks to the third victory on the day, an 11-0 routing of the Spartans. This was the second double-digit victory for the Hawks, and the second against the same opponent on opening day. Like Sulick in the first game, Rivera went three-up and three-down in every inning.
The Hawks' offense dominated from the first inning. Fitzgerald struck out swinging, Derer reached second base on a throwing error from third base, then Schumacher drilled a double to left field, bringing Derer home. Schumacher proceeded to score on a Weiser single to short stop, giving the Hawks an early 2-0 lead. Scherr flied out to left center, and with two outs, the flood gates opened. Flores reached on base by a first base fielding error, pushing Weiser to second. Cardoza drew a walk, sending Weiser to third and Flores to second. Kuzma delivered with a grand slam to left field, clearing the bases and extending the lead to 6-0 in the first inning.
This brought about a pitching change for the Spartans, sending Liz Riley in relief for Stephanie Wheatley. DeSanto fired off a single to short, and Fitzgerald sent a single to the left side. Derer stepped up to the plate and delivered another single to the left side, and advanced to second on the throw. This pushed Fitzgerald to third and DeSanto home, further cushioning the lead to 7-0, all with two outs on the board. The ending came to a close with a Schumacher groundout to short.
Both Weiser and Scherr reached base by throwing errors, and Weiser advanced to third on Scherr's on-base reach. However, she was thrown out on a fielder's choice bunt by Flores, advancing Scherr to second. Cardoza singled up the middle, sending Scherr home and Flores to third. The inning came to a close when Freese lined into a double play.
In the bottom of the fourth, two pinch hitters provided late offensive sparks for the Hawks. Freshman Lauren Saal (Howell, N.J/Howell) pinched hit for Scherr and drilled a single to left field. Freshman Nikki Sandelier (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) sent a bunt down the third base line and reached first. Scherr returned to the game, and her Sandelier advanced on a wild pitch. Cardoza reached first on a fielding error by the short stop, sending Scherr across the plate. Freese delivered a single through the right side, bringing Sandelier home. DeSanto provided a double to right center, bringing Cardoza around the plate. The inning came to a close on a Fitzgerald flyout.
Behind a well-balanced offense that fired on all cylinders and staunch pitching and fielding, the Hawks open their season with a 3-0 record, scoring 26 runs and giving up only one. The Hawks will look to duplicate their success in the Winthrop University Tournament this Friday-Sunday, March 1-3. The Hawks will face Furman University on Friday at 3 p.m. and Winthrop at 5 p.m., University of Hartford on Saturday at 11 a.m. and University of Dayton at 1 p.m., and University of North Carolina-Greensboro on Sunday at 10 a.m.
