Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 DELAND, Fla. –
Chloe Howerth (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) went 5-for-8 with a double, a run scored and an RBI as the Monmouth University softball team split a doubleheader at Stetson Tuesday evening. The Hawks took the first game, 4-1, before the Hatters earned the split with a 10-2 decision in six innings. With the split, the Hawks pushed their record to 3-7, while Stetson is now 17-6.
Katie Baron (Matawan, N.J./St. John Vianney),
Emma Hill (Rae, Mo./King City [Highland C.C.]) and
Ashalynn Umiamaka (Kapolei, Hawaii/Kapolei [Eastern Arizona]) contributed two hits apiece, with Baron and Hill also scoring once each.
Jill Freese (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area) added a pivotal two-run single in Game 1, while
Justene Reyes (Carson, Calif./Warren) had a hit, two RBI's and reached three times on hit by pitches.
Kayleena Flores (Atwater, Calif./Buhach Colony) also used the free pass, reaching three times on walks, while also scoring a run.
Nikki Sandelier (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) chipped in with an infield single and a run scored.
Sydney Underhill (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) went the distance in the circle in the Game 1 victory, limiting Stetson to just one unearned run on seven hits and two walks, striking out five.
Amanda Riley (Tracy, Calif./John C. Kimball) took the Game 2 loss, allowing five runs, three earned, on four hits and four walks.
In Game 1, the Hawks scratched across the first run for either team in the top of the fifth. Howerth led off with a double down the left field line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Umiamaka. Following a Flores walk, Reyes dropped down a successful squeeze bunt to score Howerth and give Monmouth a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks would add some needed insurance with three runs in the top of the seventh. Reyes singled, Flores walked and Baron singled to load the bases before Freese topped a two-run single through the hole and into left field to give Monmouth a 3-0 lead. With two outs, Hill singled on the infield to load the bases and Howerth drove in Baron with a single to left to make it 4-0.
The bottom of the seventh started ominously as Courtney Brandt singled and scored on a three-base throwing error, cutting the Hawks' lead to 4-1 with no outs and a runner on third. But Underhill induced three-straight groundouts to end the game.
After the Hawks went scoreless in the top of the first of Game 2, Stetson scored twice on an infield hit, four walks and a wild pitch. Riley stranded three to limit the damage in the first, but a triple to lead off the second and two throwing errors allowed the first two runners to score. A double, an illegal pitch and a single made it 5-0 Hatters after two. The Stetson advantage ran to 6-0 on Jazz Vasquez's RBI double in the bottom of the fifth.
Monmouth got two runs back in the top of the sixth. Sandelier singled, Hill walked and Howerth singled to load the bases with no outs. Consecutive fielder's choices from Umiamaka and Reyes then drove home Sandelier and Hill to cut the deficit to 6-2. But Stetson got four runs in the bottom of the inning to end the game. Brandt's RBI single scored the first run, while the second came in on a wild pitch. Jessie TenBroeck then sent a line drive up the middle the narrowly avoided Underhill's glove in the circle and deflected off the tip of Umiamaka's at short to score the final two runs.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, when they travel to Jacksonville. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m.
