Fairfield, Conn.-The Monmouth softball team took game one against the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Saturday afternoon, shutting them out 1-0 in game one and dominating 6-1 in game two. Junior Kaitie Schumacher (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) scored the lone run in game one. She went 1-3 in game one. Senior Tish Derer (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) came up big for the Hawks in game two. She went 2-4 with three RBI in the second outing.
Head Coach Louie Berndt said, "It was a good second day. We had awesome pitching in both games. Our bats came alive in game two. We have some things we still need to work on but a great away weekend!"
Senior Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) pitched a complete game with six hits, four walks and three strikeouts. Both junior Alicia DeSanto (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) and sophomore Vanessa Cardoza (Santa Ana, Calif./Ocean View) also went 1-3 on the day. Senior Jordan Barnett (Eads, Colo./Eads [Garden City C.C.]) took the mound in game two and went the full seven innings. She tallied five hits, one run, one walk and two strikeouts.
In the top of the second inning, Schumacher doubled and scored from second on a Cardoza single. Neither the Hawks nor the Pioneers were able to generate any further offense throughout the game, giving Monmouth the gritty win.
Game two saw Monmouth get on the board in the top of the third inning. With two outs, senior Tish Derer (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) singled to center field. DeSanto followed up with a single to advance Derer to second. Sophomore Kayleena Flores (Atwater, Calif./Buhach Colony) reached on an error by the first baseman, and also advanced to second on an error by the first baseman. This moved DeSanto to third and sent Derer across the plate, giving Monmouth the 1-0 lead.
The next at-bat saw junior Shannon Fitzgerald (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) single to center field and score Flores and DeSanto, extending the lead to 3-0 before the inning ended. Sacred Heart got on the board in the bottom half of the inning when senior Nicole Sidor blasted a home run.
Monmouth put up one more run in the top of the fourth when senior Christine Scherr (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) singled to the pitcher, and advanced to third on a Cardoza single. She crossed home after a groundout by Derer to second, giving the Hawks the 4-1 lead. The lead was extended in the top of the sixth inning. After consecutive singles by Cardoza and senior Kate Kuzma (Freehold, N.J./Colts Neck), a Derer triple sent both of them around the plate, giving Monmouth the 6-1 lead and ultimately the winning score.
The Hawks will face off against non-conference Ivy League opponent University of Pennsylvania. Monmouth will play the Quakers in Philadelphia on Wednesday, April 3 at 4:00 p.m.
