(6 inn.)
Monmouth Hawks (27-12) – 9
Lafayette Leopards (6-28-1) – 0
 
Monmouth Hawks (27-13) – 2
Lafayette Leopards (7-28-1) – 7
 
EASTON, PA – After a dominant 9-0 win in game one, the Monmouth University softball team fell to Lafayette in game two for a split on the day, 7-2. Freshman Lindsey Baron hit a home run in each game, bringing her team-leading total to eight on the season.  Sophomore Alyssa Irons pitched another complete game shutout in the first contest, improving her record to 21-7 on the season. Sophomore Katie Harrington hit her second career home run in game one, and went 3-for-4 with three RBI total on the day. Junior Kayla Rosado went 4-for-6 combined with two runs scored, bringing her team-leading season average to .370. Monmouth's record now stands at 27-13 on the season, and the team will travel to Marist on Saturday in a return to conference play.  
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"In game one, Alyssa set the tone in the circle and our offense came out very aggressive. Lafayette came out in game two and took advantage of our mistakes. We had a couple miscues where we didn't make the right choices defensively, and we just have to fight back a little better. We've been doing a nice job recently of answering when teams put runs up, but tried to do a little too much today. We'll tweak a couple things and get ready for Marist this weekend." -  Monmouth head coach Shannon Salsburg
 
-In game one, Monmouth got on the board first in the top of the first. With two outs, Rosado and junior Amber Wozniak hit back-to-back singles. After junior Amanda Hopeck was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Harrington drew a walk to make it 1-0.
-In the top of the second, Baron crushed a two-run home run to center field. Senior Jasmine Higa scored on the play after walking.
-Baron led off the top of the fourth with a double down the left field line, and was brought home by a Wozniak single to make it 4-0.
-Harrington launched her second career home run in the top of the fifth, giving the Hawks a 5-0 advantage.
-In the top of the sixth, Monmouth loaded the bases with no outs. Hopeck hit an RBI single to center field to score sophomore pinch runner Morgan Maziarz, and Harrington followed it up with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-0.
-Junior Deangie Jimenez kept it going with an RBI single to right field, scoring Wozniak. Sophomore Erika Coreth made it 9-0 with an RBI single to left field, and Irons closed the door in the bottom of the inning to end the game.
 
-In game two, Baron led off with a double. Rosado eventually brought her home with an infield single, putting Monmouth up 1-0.
-Lafayette scored two runs in the bottom of the first on an RBI single and an RBI groundout.
-Baron hit her second home run of the day to tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the third.
-The Leopards pulled away in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs on four hits to make it 6-2.
-Lafayette added a run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double to seal the 7-2 win.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-With another win today, Irons moved into a tie for second place all-time for a single season (21). The program record is 22 set by Donna Witt in 1995.
-Irons is now 21-7 on the year with a 1.37 ERA. She's struck out 160 batters and has nine complete game shutouts, which ranks top-10 nationally.
-Baron now has the second most doubles for a single season in Monmouth history (16). She's just one away from tying the all-time record set by Heather Gordon in 2007.  
-Baron is second on the team with a .349 average. She leads the team with 41 runs scored and 16 walks.
-Wozniak has 97 career hits.
-Monmouth outhit Lafayette 13-3 in game one.
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will travel to Marist for a crucial conference doubleheader on Saturday.