Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Eight different Hawks finished with four hits or more as the Monmouth University softball team swept Niagara, 8-0 and 9-8, on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at MU Softball Park. With the sweep, Monmouth clinched the No. 5 seed in the MAAC Tournament for the second-consecutive season. Like last season, the Hawks will face fourth-seeded Siena in Wednesday second first round game. The tournament will be hosted by top-seeded Canisius, which tied with Fairfield for the regular season championship. No. 3 Manhattan and No. 6 Iona round out the tournament field.

Monmouth (16-23, 12-8 MAAC) was led by Rachel Shotzbarger (Saugus, Calif./Saugus), who went 4-for-7 with two doubles, a home run, four runs scored and two RBI's. Ashalynn Umiamaka (Kapolei, Hawaii/Kapolei [Eastern Arizona]) added a 3-for-7 effort with a double and five RBI's. Emma Hill (Rae, Mo./King City [Highland C.C.]) also went 3-for-7 with four runs scored, two RBI's and a pair of stolen bases to improve to 22-for-22 in stolen base attempts. Kayleena Flores (Atwater, Calif./Buhach Colony), Vanessa Cardoza (Santa Ana, Calif./Ocean View) and Chloe Howerth (Roscoe, ill./Hononegah) also each went 2-for-6. Flores scored three runs, while Howerth and Cardoza scored twice each. Cardoza drove in two and Howerth added an RBI.

Sydney Underhill (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) started both games in the circle for Monmouth, earning the complete-game shutout in Game 1 before leaving Game 2 as the pitcher of record on the winning side. All told, she allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits and a walk, while striking out 11. Breanna Sniffen (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange [St. Petersburg College]) took the Game 2 victory with 2.0 scoreless innings of relief. She allowed three hits and struck out one.

After a scoreless first inning of Game 1, Monmouth scored once in the second, two each in the third and fourth and three in the fifth to enact the mercy rule after five. Shotzbarger singled, advanced two bases on groundouts and scored on a wild pitch in the second. Hill led off the third with a slap single and scored when Niagara threw Howerth's sacrifice bunt attempt into the outfield. Umiamaka followed with an RBI single to right to score Howerth and make it 3-0.

Flores led off the fourth with a triple to left center and scored on a fielding error on Cardoza's at bat. A Jill Freese (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area) walk and a Raelynn Galindo (Yorba Linda, Calif./Yorba Linda) single loaded the bases for Hill, who grounded out to second, scoring Cardoza from third to make it 5-0 Monmouth.

Justene Reyes (Carson, Calif./Warren), Shotzbarger and Flores doubled consecutively with one out in the bottom of the fifth to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead and runners on second and third. Following a strikeout, Meagan Newton-Pender (Holbrook, Ariz./Holbrook [Mesa C.C.]) sent a hot shot to first that was kicked aside, allowing both runners to score as the Hawks took the Game 1 win, 8-0.

In Game 2, Hill led off the bottom of the first with a single to left, stole second and took third on an errant throw from the catcher. She then scored on Howerth's groundout to first. Shotzbarger led off the bottom of the second with a solo shot to left center, staking Monmouth to a 2-0 lead. Niagara got on the board for the first time on the day in the top of the third on Chanelle Ward's two-out RBI single to left, cutting the Hawks' lead to 2-1. The Purple Eagles tied the game in the top of the fourth, thanks in large part to free passes and an error. The first two batters reached on a hit-by-pitch and an error. After a fielder's choice and a strikeout, Desarae Maldanado singled to left and Taylor Moody rounded third hard for home. The on-target throw was cut off, Moody retreated back toward third. The Hawks threw errantly behind her, allowing Moody to score the tying run.

Monmouth retook the lead in the bottom of the frame. Shotzbarger doubled with one out and Cardoza doubled her home with two outs, giving Monmouth a 3-2 lead. But Niagara struck for six runs off reliever Amanda Riley (Tracy, Calif./John C. Kimball). Consecutive singles, followed by a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt loaded the bases. The tying run scored on a passed ball, before Moody singled on the infield to give Niagara its first lead of the game. Riley got the second out with strikeout. Following a single to load the bases, Maldonado hit a grand slam to left, staking Niagara to an 8-3 lead.

Monmouth chipped away at the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Hill dropped down a bunt single to third with one out before stealing second. Howerth singled on the infield to put runners on the corners for Umiamaka, who hit a two-run double to right center, cutting the deficit to 8-5.

Monmouth then posted four runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 9-8 lead. Flores hit a fly ball to left, but it was dropped, allowing her to reach second to lead off the inning. Cardoza then singled, scoring Flores, while moving up to second on the throw home. Freese was hit by a pitch and Nikki Sandelier (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) dropped down a sacrifice bunt on which the Purple Eagles tried unsuccessfully to cut down Cardoza at third. Another unsuccessful fielder's choice on Hill's ground ball plated Cardoza, before Niagara got the first out on a force play at home on Howerth's at bat. Umiamaka then hit a two-run single to center as the Hawks retook the 9-8 lead.

Niagara threatened in the top of the seventh with a single and a double to lead off the inning. But Ally Gay's squeeze bunt attempt was popped up to Freese behind the plate, resulting in a double play. Maldonado put a charge into the ball with two outs, sending Flores back to the track to squeeze the final out.