Box Score DELAND, FL – Jill Freese (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area), Nicole Wieczorek (Oakdale, NY/Connetquot) and Justene Reyes (Carson, CA/Warren) drove in two runs apiece as the Monmouth University softball team split a doubleheader at Stetson Tuesday evening. The Hawks (8-7) took Game 1, 4-2, before dropping an eight-inning heartbreaker in Game 2 by a 5-4 final score. Stetson moved to 21-11 with the split.

Freese and Wieczorek hit back-to-back solo home runs in Game 1 and each drove in two in the victory. Wieczorek also scored twice, once in each game. Rachel Shotzbarger (Saugus, CA/Saugus) had a team-best four hits on the day and scored twice, while Emma Hill (Rae, MO/King City [Highland C.C.]) added three hits and two stolen bases. Ashalynn Umiamaka (Kapolei, HI/Kapolei [Eastern Arizona]) also contributed three hits.

Sydney Underhill (Temecula, CA/Chaparral) went the distance in the circle in the Game 1 win, allowing two unearned runs on four hits and four walks, while striking out two. She also took the Game 2 loss, entering in the eighth and allowing two earned runs on three hits and two walks in 0.2 innings. Amanda Riley (Tracy, CA/John C. Kimball) got the Game 2 start in the circle and didn't allow a run until there were two outs in the seventh. She allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits and seven walks in seven-plus innings pitched. She struck out four.

The Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second of Game 1 on back-to-back solo home runs from Freese and Wieczorek to begin the inning. Monmouth would manufacture two more runs in the top of the third, with the first scoring on Freese's bases-loaded walk and the next scoring on Wieczorek's RBI groundout to make it 4-0 Hawks.

After Stetson loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom of the fourth, Underhill looked to have wiggled out of the jam with a popout, a strikeout and a ground ball. But the ground ball was mishandled, allowing two Hatters to score, cutting the MU lead to 4-2 after four. Underhill limited Stetson to just one hit the rest of the way in rounding out the complete-game effort.

In Game 2, neither team could get much offense going against Riley and Stetson pitcher Tori Perkins in the early going. After four scoreless frames, the Hawks scratched across a run in the top of the fifth. Wieczorek led off with a double to left and moved to third on a ground ball to short. The freshman came around to score after the ball was mishandled, staking Monmouth to a 1-0 lead.

The Hatters threatened in the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff walk, a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch putting a runner on third with one out. But Riley rallied for a strikeout and a flyout to strand a pair and preserve the 1-0 lead. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Stetson finally broke through on Ashly Smith's RBI single to right to score Jessie Tenbroeck to tie the game at 1-1.

With the international tie-breaker in play in the top of the eighth, Nikki Sandelier (Turnersville, NJ/Washington Township) pinch ran at second base. After Hill sacrificed Sandelier to third, Chloe Howerth (Roscoe, IL/Hononegah) singled to the pitcher, but Sandelier couldn't advance. Shotzbarger walked to load the bases for Reyes, who singled to right to score two. After Stetson got a popout for the second out, a delayed steal drew an errant throw, allowing Shotzbarger to score Monmouth's fourth run.

Molly Shasteen hit an RBI double to lead off the bottom of the eighth for the Hatters, cutting the Hawks' lead to 4-2, before Riley issued a walk to Kelsey Waters and was replaced in the circle by Underhill. The junior loaded the bases on four-straight balls, before Brittany Hawn singled to center to score one. On the play, Hill threw out Kelsey Waters at the plate from center field as she attempted to score the tying run. But runners moved to the corners on the play and the Hatters got the tying run on Talli Sharp's single to right. Following a Tenbroeck single to load the bases, Monmouth recorded the second out on a force play at the plate. But Smith then walked on four pitches to force in the winning run.

The Hawks return to Spring Break action in Florida tomorrow, when they face Jacksonville in a doubleheader. Game 1 of the doubleheader is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.