#2 Monmouth Hawks (36-16) – 6  
#1 Marist Red Foxes (35-22) – 1
 
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY –  Five different players had an RBI and sophomore pitcher Alyssa Irons won her 30^th game of the season as the Monmouth University softball team defeated No. 1 Marist, 6-1, for its second straight MAAC Championship. Irons tossed her 33^rd complete game of the year, giving up just one run and two hits. Senior Jasmine Higa started off the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the third. Junior Deangie Jimenez extended the lead with a two-RBI single in the fourth. Freshman Lindsey Baron hit her 12^th home run of the season in the top of the fifth to make it 4-0, and the Red Foxes scored their line run in the bottom half on a wild pitch. Monmouth put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh, as junior Kayla Rosado hit an RBI single and junior Amanda Hopeck hit a sacrifice fly to make it 6-1. The Hawks improve to 36-16 on the season, and have won the second most games for a single season in program history. They will find out their next opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday night at 9:00 PM.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"This one was hard. All season long, it was a battle, and I'm just really proud of our group. Marist is one heck of a team, and I tip my hat to them. Being able to get back-to-back championships is really special. The two losses to Marist earlier in the season really fueled us. We went back and had some tough practices, and if we didn't go through that I don't know if we'd be here right now. We're going to go have fun at the NCAA Tournament, get after it and see what we can do." - Monmouth head coach Shannon Salsburg
-Baron led off the game with a single over the third baseman's head, but Marist got three straight outs to end the inning.
-With one out in the top of the third, Higa launched her first home run of the season just over the wall to put Monmouth ahead 1-0.
-In the top of the fourth, Hopeck reached on an error and freshman Katie Harrington made it to first on a bunt single. After sophomore Katie Harrington stole second, Jimenez came up clutch once again with a two-RBI single through the left side.
-Baron led off the top of the fifth with a home run to left field on a full count, making it 4-0.
-Marist got one back in the bottom of the fifth. After Hailee Jantorno walked, she advanced to second on a wild pitch. A groundout sent her to third, and she eventually scored on another wild pitch.
-Monmouth extended its lead in the top of the seventh. Baron led off with a walk, and junior Sam Tomasetti followed with a single.
-Rosado singled through the right side to make it 5-1, and Hopeck later hit a sacrifice fly to score Tomasetti.
-Irons sealed the win in the top of the seventh, forcing a popout, groundout and strikeout.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-After not winning a conference tournament championship for the first 34 of program history, the Hawks have now won back-to-back titles. Monmouth has also made it to the MAAC Championship round five consecutive times.
-Monmouth is 41-5 in MAAC games over the last two years including the postseason.
-Seven different Hawks hit a home run in three games of the MAAC Championships.
-In three games of the MAAC Tournament, Jimenez had six RBI.
-Irons is now 30-10 on the season with a 1.47 ERA. The previous program record for wins in a season was 22, set by Donna Witt in 1995. In 35 starts, she has 33 complete games, including 12 shutouts. Irons has struck out 225 batters in 257.1 innings pitched. Her 30 wins rank second in the NCAA.
-For a single season, Irons ranks first in program history for wins (30), first with 35 starts, first with 257.1 innings pitched, and second with 225 strikeouts.  
-Rosado (.378), Baron (.354), Wozniak (.304), and Tomasetti (.303) are all batting over .300 heading into the NCAA Tournament.
-Baron's 12 home runs rank t-third for a single season.
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will find out its NCAA Regionals opponents during the Selection Show tomorrow night at 9:00 PM.