Columbia (17-17, 9-6 Ivy) – 4
Monmouth (18-13, 8-0 MAAC) – 5
 
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ  – Sophomore Amber Wozniak hit a walk-off RBI double against non-conference opponent Columbia today, propelling the Monmouth University softball team to its tenth straight win, 5-4. With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh, senior Katie Baron walked with one out. Wozniak then crushed a double to the gap in left center, allowing Baron to score the game-winning run from first base. Wozniak went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two doubles on the day, and is now batting .320 on the season, which ranks second on the team. Senior Amanda Riley earned her 11^th win of the season, pitching her 11^th complete game while giving up just two earned runs. Senior Chloe Howerth went 2-for-4 in the game, adding a two-RBI double in the bottom of the second. The Hawks improved to 18-13 on the season, and will look to stay undefeated in conference play this weekend when they travel to Iona and Quinnipiac.
 
NOTES
"[Close, exciting game like that] are great for us, especially for future situations like the MAAC Tournament, where you have to win games like that. We talked about the competition we've played and games like that, and how they are going to help us down the road. We didn't always come out on top early in the season, but the maturity of the team is starting to come through." – Monmouth head coach Shannon Salsburg
-Wozniak started off the scoring in the bottom of the second. After Howerth singled and Rosado reached on an error, the sophomore hit an RBI double to left field with two outs.
-Columbia tied the game in the top of the second, using an RBI single after a walk.
-The Hawks got two runs in the bottom of the second to regain a 3-1 lead. With two outs, Howerth doubled to score sophomore Sam Tomasetti and freshman Katie Harrington.
-In the top of the fourth, the Lions tied the game once again, hitting a two-RBI triple to make it 3-3.
-Columbia took its first lead in the top of the fifth, singling to right field to score the runner from second.
-The Hawks tied the game at 4 in the bottom of the sixth, as senior Alex Holzman stole third and scored on a throwing error by the catcher.
-Riley shut down the Lions in the top of the seventh, getting the final two outs after giving up a triple.
-After Howerth grounded out to open the bottom of the seventh, Baron registered her eighth walk of the year. Sophomore Kayla Rosado popped up to the shortstop the next at-bat, but Wozniak came through with the clutch walk-off hit.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth has won 10 straight games for the first time since 2010. The longest winning-streak in program history is 13 (1995).
-Wozniak is second on the team with a .320 average, three home runs, 31 hits, 22 RBI, and eight doubles.
-Baron, Wozniak, Rosado, Tomasetti and Howerth have started all 31 games this season.
-Riley increased her program record to 576 career strikeouts (the previous record was 497), and lowered her ERA to 2.79. She reached 11 wins for the third consecutive season.
-Howerth leads the team with 26 runs this year.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks travel to Iona (15-19, 7-3 MAAC) on Saturday before facing Quinnipiac (18-21, 6-4 MAAC) on Sunday.