Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BUFFALO, NY –
Chloe Howerth (Roscoe, IL/Hononegah),
Rachel Shotzbarger (Saugus, CA/Saugus) and
Jill Freese (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) had two hits apiece, but the Monmouth University softball team was swept at Canisius, 5-1 and 5-4 (11 inn.), Saturday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex. With the losses, the Hawks fall to 24-17 (11-5 MAAC), while the Griffs improve to 18-28 (9-5 MAAC).
Shotzbarger drove in two and scored a run, while Freese hit her team-leading 11th home run of the season to put her alone in third all-time in a single season at Monmouth.
Emma Hill (Rae, MO/King City [Highland C.C.]) scored a pair of runs, while
Ashalynn Umiamaka (Kapolei, HI/Kapolei [Eastern Arizona]) chipped in with a hit and an RBI.
Sydney Underhill (Temecula, CA/Chaparral) went the distance in Game 2 and also pitched 1.1 innings in relief in Game 1 to finish with a line of 12.0 innings pitched, nine hits, five earned runs, four walks and eight strikeouts on the day.
Amanda Riley (Tracy, CA/John C. Kimball) took the Game 1 loss, allowing five runs, four earned on 11 hits. She struck out one.
In Game 1, the Hawks scored in the top of the first, when Hill singled to the pitcher, stole second, took third on a passed ball and scored on Shotzbarger's sacrifice fly. But that was the only run Monmouth would score in Game 1. Canisius evened the score in the bottom of the first with a run scoring on a wild pitch and went ahead for good on Jessica Berzins' two-out RBI single in the second. Still a 2-1 Canisius lead heading to the bottom of the fifth, the Griffs added three runs of insurance, all with two outs. Denver Keller hit a two-run double, before Moriah Harris added a run-scoring single to account for the 5-1 final score.
Monmouth got on the scoreboard first again in Game 2, this time scoring three times. Hill and Howerth opened the game with walks, before Hill scored on Shotzbarger's RBI single. Following a
Justene Reyes (Carson, CA/Warren) flyout, Howerth scored on a throwing error. Shotzbarger came home on Umiamaka's single through the left side to make it 3-0 Monmouth after a half inning.
Underhill got the first two batters out in the bottom of the first before consecutive walks would come back to hurt her when Meghan Cuda ripped a two-run single. The scoring ceased until Freese hit her 11th home run of the season on a shot to center in the top of the fourth to give Monmouth a 4-2 lead.
A hit-by-pitch and a walk set the table for Canisius to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third before a groundout made it 4-3. An RBI single up the middle from Harris tied the game at 4-4 after six. Four scoreless innings sent the game to the 11th, before Harris led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a groundout. She then scored the winning run on Berzins' two-out single up the middle.
The Hawks return to action tomorrow, when they finish the MAAC's Western New York road trip at Niagara. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m.
