Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Sydney Underhill (Temecula, CA/Chaparral) pitched a complete-game shutout to win Game 1 as the Monmouth University softball team split with Saint Peter's on Senior Day Sunday. With the split, Monmouth (26-19, 13-7 MAAC) drops to the No. 4 seed in the MAAC Championships and will face fifth-seeded Fairfield to open the tournament on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at host Marist. Saint Peter's moved to 1-42 (1-19 MAAC) with the split.

Jill Freese (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area), Katie Baron (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) and Rachel Shotzbarger (Saugus, CA/Saugus) led the Hawks' offense with three hits apiece, while Nicole Wieczorek (Oakdale, NY/Connetquot) and Emma Hill (Rae, MO/King City [Highland C.C.]) had two hits each.

Underhill went the distance in Game 1, scattering four hits, while striking out four in the shutout. She did not walk a batter. Amanda Riley (Tracy, CA/John C. Kimball) also went seven innings in Game 2, allowing three earned runs on five hits and three walks. She struck out 12, a career high for a seven-inning game, one off her career high of 13 in 8.2 innings earlier this season at Quinnipiac.

The Hawks scored all five of their Game 1 runs in the fourth inning. Shotzbarger led off with a double, before Justene Reyes (Carson, CA/Warren) plated her with an RBI single. Ashalynn Umiamaka (Kapolei, HI/Kapolei [Eastern Arizona]), Freese and Wieczorek followed consecutively with RBI singles of their own, before Baron capped with the scoring with a one-out, run-scoring single to make it 5-0.

The run support was more than enough for Underhill, who retired 11 of the final 12 batters she faced to secure the victory.

Saint Peter's struck first in Game 1, scoring a second-inning run. A walk, a passed ball and a Candice Koch single to center made it 1-0 Peacocks. Monmouth got the run back in the bottom of the third. Riley walked, moved to second on Baron's single and both base runners moved up on Hill's sacrifice bunt. Chloe Howerth (Roscoe, IL/Hononegah) then singled to left to plate Riley, tying the game at 1-1.

The top of the fourth began with Kristen Kelley singling to shortstop. Shotzbarger made a diving stab and threw on time to first. But Reyes was ruled to be off the bag stretching for the out. A groundout pushed Kelley to second and a pop out gave the Hawks two outs. But Scheiler Collins dunked in an RBI double to the cut of the infield grass behind third base just inside the foul line. Wind then played tricks on a Stacey Klempel fly ball seemingly ticketed for straightaway center field. The ball landed just past the infield dirt on the right side of the diamond for a run-scoring double, out of the reach of a charging Hill from center field.

Trailing, 3-1, the Hawks put a runner in scoring position in each of the final four innings, but scored just once. With Hill at third and one out in the fifth, Shotzbarger sent a liner back up the box, but Saint Peter's pitcher Crystal Carlucci made a snow-cone grab for the second out. Carlucci escaped damage in the frame with a groundout. Monmouth got one run back in the sixth, as Freese walked, before Wieczorek moved pinch runner Jasmine Higa (Apple Valley, CA/Apple Valley) to second on a sacrifice bunt. Higa took third on a wild pitch and scored on Riley's sacrifice fly to cut the deficit in half at 3-2 after six.

Hill opened the bottom of the seventh with a slap single through the left side and moved to second on Howerth's sacrifice bunt. But Shotzbarger flew out and Reyes lined out to end the game.