Philadelphia, Pa.-The Monmouth softball team traveled to Philadelphia to face off against the Penn Quakers. The Hawks took game one by a score of 2-1 and 17-2 on the day. The Hawks improve their record to 17-10 on the season, and the Quakers fall to 13-13 on the season.
In game one, freshman Cerissa Rivera (Westminster, Calif./Fountain Valley) pitched the complete seven innings and tallied five hits, four strikeouts and one walk. Her record improves to 5-3 on the season.
Junior Alicia DeSanto (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) went 3-4 in game one. Both senior Tish Derer (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) and junior Kaitie Schumacher (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) went 1-2 with one run apiece. Sophomore Vanessa Cardoza (Santa Ana, Calif./Ocean View) went 1-3 with one RBI.
In the bottom of the first, sophomore Sydney Turchin drew a walk and stole second. She scored on an RBI single from senior Brooke Coloma, giving the Quakers the early 1-0 lead. The Hawks were able to neutralize any further offense by Penn.
In the top of the fifth, Derer singled to left center, then moved to second on a DeSanto single down the left field line. A lineout by sophomore Kayleena Flores (Atwater, Calif./Buhach Colony) moved Derer to third and DeSanto to second. Derer was able to score from third on an error, tying the game at one run apiece.
In the top of the sixth inning, Schumacher singled down the middle, and advanced to second on a groundout by senior Kayla Weiser (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area). Cardoza then singled through the left side and advanced to second on the throw. This allowed Schumacher to score from second, giving Monmouth the 2-1 lead and the game one victory.
In game two, senior Jordan Barnett (Eads, Colo./Eads [Garden City CC]) pitched four innings and tallied five hits, one run and one walk. Her record is now 7-4 on the season. Derer went 1-2 with three runs and one RBI. DeSanto went 2-5 with two runs and one RBI. Schumacher went 3-3 with four runs and 4 RBI. Freshman Jill Freese (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area) went 2-3 on the afternoon.
Monmouth hammered the Quakers early in the game, scoring three runs in the first inning. Derer was hit by a pitch to start the game, then moved to second on a DeSanto groundout. A ground-rule double to right center by Flores scored Derer from second. Flores then scored on a double from Schumacher to left field. Cardoza singled up the middle, scoring Schumacher from second base and giving the Hawks the 3-0 jump.
The Hawks kept pouring on the runs in the second inning. Freese singled up the middle then advanced to second on a passed ball. Derer was then hit by a pitch. DeSanto reached on a fielder's choice and advanced Freese and Derer one base. The next at-bat saw Flores reach on a fielder's choice, moving DeSanto to second, Derer to third, but Freese out at home. Derer and DeSanto scored on a Schumacher single, giving the Hawks a 5-0 lead. Flores and Schumacher each advanced one base on the throw, and both were brought home by a Shannon Fitzgerald (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) double. This gave the Hawks the 7-0 lead in the second inning before the inning ended.
In the third inning, Weiser singled up the middle, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior Christine Scherr (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area). A Freese double down the left field line scored Weiser, pushing the lead to 8-0 before Penn got on the board. Senior Bridget Ellsworth doubled to right center. A single by senior Stephanie Caso pushed Ellsworth to third, then scored on a groundout by junior Elysse Gorney. The Quakers were unable to score until the bottom of the fifth.
In the fourth inning, Schumacher drilled a home run to left center, extending the Hawks dominating lead to 9-1. Monmouth then went on a spree in the fifth inning, further pushing any possibility for a comeback out of reach.
Scherr started off the inning with a single to third base. Derer doubled to right center then advanced to third on a fielding error by the right fielder Coloma, scoring Scherr from first and giving Monmouth the 10-1 lead. DeSanto singled to the right side and scored Derer, pushing the lead to 11-1. Schumacher then drew a walk, and Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch the next at-bat. Cardoza then singled up the middle, scoring DeSanto from third and extending the lead to 12-1. A Weiser walk the next at-bat loaded the bases and scored Schumacher from third, getting Monmouth to 13-1. Scherr finished the Monmouth scoring onslaught with a grand slam, getting the Hawks to 17-1 in the fifth inning.
Senior Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) relieved Barnett in the fifth, and Penn got on the board one more time. Caso singled down the left field line. She was out at second on a fielder's choice reach by Gorney. A single by freshman Kanani Datan moved Gorney to second. Junior Kayla Dahlerbruch was walked, loading the bases. Coloma reached on a fielder's choice, giving Penn their second run of the game, the third run of the doubleheader.
Monmouth returns home Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. to continue conference play against the Robert Morris Colonials.
