Staten Island, N.Y.-Senior Lauren Sulick (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) and freshman Cerissa Rivera (Westminster, Calif./Fountain Valley) both pitched shutout victories on the road against Northeast Conference rival Wagner College. Sulick tallied two hits on the day, while Rivera had four, to give Monmouth the 9-0 and 6-0 victory. The Hawks are now 19-12 on the season and 8-4 in conference play. The Seahawks are 8-25 on the season and 2-8 in NEC play.
Senior Christine Scherr (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) went 3-4 in game one with two runs and three RBI, and scored one run in game two. Junior Shannon Fitzgerald (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) went 2-3 with two runs and two RBI in game one, and went 1-3 with two RBI in game two. Junior Kaitie Schumacher (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) went 2-4 with one run in game one. Senior Kayla Weiser (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area) went 2-3 in game one and 2-4 with one RBI in the second contest.
Game one saw the Hawks jump on the Seahwaks with two runs in the first inning. Junior Alicia DeSanto (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) was walked, then Schumacher doubled down the left field line to move her to third. Both DeSanto and Schumacher were brought home on a Scherr double. In the second inning, Fitzgerald was walked, and senior Kate Kuzma (Freehold, N.J./Colts Neck) doubled, sending Fitzgerald to third. She then scored on a wild pitch, giving Monmouth the 3-0 lead.
In the third inning, Schumacher singled up the middle, but was called out at second on a Scherr fielder's choice reach. A drawn walk by sophomore Vanessa Cardoza (Santa Ana, Calif./Ocean View) moved Scherr to second. A sacrifice bunt by sophomore Kayleena Flores (Atwater, Calif./Buhach Colony) moved Cardoza to second and Scherr to third. A single by Fitzgerald and an advance to second on the throw scored Cardoza and Scherr, giving the Hawks the 5-0 lead.
Kuzma then walked, and Weiser singled to shortstop, moving Kuzma to second and Fitzgerald to third. A double to left field by senior Tish Derer (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) scored both Fitzgerald and Kuzma, giving Monmouth the 7-0 lead. In the top of the sixth, Scherr and Cardoza scored on consecutive home runs, giving the Hawks the 9-0 win in the first contest.
In game two, the Hawks were unable to score until the top of the fourth inning. Three consecutive walks drawn by Scherr, Cardoza and Flores loaded the bases with one out. A ground-rule double by Fitzgerald scored Cardoza and Scherr, giving the Hawks the 2-0 lead. In the next inning, Derer reached on an error by the pitcher. DeSanto singled on a bunt and moved Derer to second. Derer scored on a Schumacher fielder's choice reach, extending Monmouth's lead to 3-0.
Cardoza reached on a fielder's choice, getting Schumacher out at second and moving DeSanto to third. A single by Flores up the middle scored DeSanto and pushed Monmouth's shutout lead to four before the inning ended. In the sixth, singles by Kuzma and Weiser got them on base. Freshman Nikki Sandelier (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) pinch ran for Kuzma, and she reached third on a groundout by Derer to third base. Weiser moved to second base, and then moved to third on a DeSanto bunt. Sandelier scored from third and gave Monmouth the five-run lead. In the seventh inning, Sandelier was walked, stole second, and batted around the bases on a Weiser double. This gave Monmouth the 6-0 lead and the game-winning score.
The Hawks return home on Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. to face off against the La Salle Explorers in a non-conference bout. The Hawks will then travel to Villanova to face off against the Wildcats on Saturday, April 13 at noon, and then return home to face off against top-ranked Central Connecticut State on Sunday, April 14 at noon.
