Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BUFFALO, N.Y. –
Jill Freese (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area) and
Rachel Shotzbarger (Saugus, Calif./Saugus) both homered and drove in four, but the No. 5 Monmouth University softball team was defeated twice by second-seeded Fairfield, 8-5 and 11-5, in the MAAC Championship Round Saturday afternoon at Canisius College's Demske Sports Complex. With the losses, the Hawks end their season at 19-25, while the Stags (25-22) advance to the NCAA Tournament.
For their efforts in the tournament,
Emma Hill (Rae, Mo./King City [Highland C.C.]),
Ashalynn Umiamaka (Kapolei, Hawaii/Kapolei [Eastern Arizona]) and Shotzbarger were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Freese and Shotzbarger each collected three hits Saturday. Umiamaka went 4-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored, while
Chloe Howerth (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) went 3-for-7 with two runs scored.
Vanessa Cardoza (Santa Ana, Calif./Ocean View) also chipped in with three hits, including two doubles, to go along with two runs scored and an RBI. Hill also added three hits, a run scored and a stolen base, while
Justene Reyes (Carson, Calif./Warren) had two hits and a hit by pitch.
Kayleena Flores (Atwater, Calif./Buhach Colony) also had a double and a run scored.
Sydney Underhill (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) started both games in the circle and took both losses. She allowed 15 runs, nine earned, on 17 hits and five walks, while striking out two in a combined six innings pitched.
Breanna Sniffen (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange [St. Petersburg College]) entered both games in relief and allowed four runs, two earned, on 13 hits and four walks, while striking out three in seven innings.
The Hawks struck first in the top of the first of Game 1. Hill hit an infield single to short and Howerth drew a six-pitch walk. Monmouth attempted a double steal and Hill was caught stealing for the first time in 27 attempts this season. Reyes was hit by a pitch with two outs to put runners on first and second, before Shotzbarger ripped Destinee Pallotto's first pitch to center to score Howerth and give Monmouth a 1-0 lead.
Fairfield countered with an unearned run in the bottom of the first, when Lauren Filicia led off with a single, moved two bases on a throwing error that put runners on the corners, and scored on a Sam Frungillo groundout to tie the game at 1-1.
After Cardoza spun a soft pop over first base for a leadoff double in the top of the second, Freese hit a towering shot to left for a two-run home run, giving Monmouth a 3-1 lead. With one out, Hill chopped a single in front of the plate, before moving to second on a Howerth groundout. Umiamaka then singled through the left side to score Hill, pushing the Hawks' lead to 4-1.
Fairfield again matched the Hawks with three runs in the bottom of the second. Two walks and a single loaded the bases, before consecutive runs scored on errors. Howerth made a sliding catch in left for the first out, before Underhill struck out Tori Reed for the second out. Frugillo then sent a ground ball up the middle that tied the game. But Shotzbarger knocked the ball down and the Hawks caught Brianna Levick in a rundown between third and home for the final out, leaving the game tied at 4-4 after two.
Shotzbarger led off the top of the third with a solo shot to left, her third home run of the tournament, to give Monmouth a 5-4 lead.
After Underhill got the first out of the fifth, Molly Roche lined a home run over the center field wall to tie the game at 5-5. Kate Robinson followed with a double to right center, before Levick dropped down a bunt single to put runners on the corners. Filicia then cashed in with a single up the middle to give Fairfield a 6-5 lead and Sniffen replaced Underhill in the circle. Sammy Ruffolo followed with a two-run double on a line drive to left center before Sniffen got the final two outs to keep it at 8-5 Fairfield after five.
Monmouth threatened in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with one out for the Nos. 4 and 5 positions in the line-up. But Pallotto struck out Reyes and Shotzbarger, both swinging, to escape the jam. Sniffen kept Fairfield off the board in the bottom of the sixth, but Monmouth was retired in order in the top of the seventh to end Game 1.
Fairfield, which became the visiting team in Game 2, struck first in the top of the first. Filicia was hit by a pitch to begin the game, before advancing to second on a groundout and third on an infield single. Frungillo's groundout plated Filicia to make it 1-0 after one half inning.
The Stags tacked on six runs on six hits, a walk and an error in the top of the second to open a 7-0 lead. 12 Stags came to the plate, with Robinson delivering a pair of RBI hits, a double early in the inning and a single later in the frame. Filicia and Ball added RBI singles, while an error brought another in, as did a Reed squeeze bunt.
Monmouth responded in the bottom of the second with two runs. Flores got things started with a one-out ground-rule double to right, before Cardoza also doubled to center to drive her in. Freese then singled to center to score Cardoza, making it 7-2 Fairfield after two.
Frungillo reached on a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth, before pinch runner pinch runner Makenna DiGuilio moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Ball's single to center to push Fairfield's lead to 8-2.
Fairfield added two more runs in the top of the sixth on a single and an error, as well as a wild pitch. Monmouth prolonged the game with a single run in the bottom of the sixth. A Reyes single, a Shotzbarger fielder's choice in which no out was recorded and a Cardoza single with one out loaded the bases. Freese then singled to shallow right to make it 10-3.
The Stags tacked on another insurance run in the top of the seventh on three-consecutive two-out singles. Down to their last at bat, Howerth reached on an error and both Umiamaka and Reyes singled to load the bases. Shotzbarger then doubled to left center to drive in two. But that was all the Hawks could put on the board and Fairfield came away with the championship.
