Game One (9 inn.)
Canisius Golden Griffins (0-1, 0-1 MAAC) - 4
Monmouth Hawks (1-0, 1-0 MAAC) - 5
 
Game Two (6 inn.)
Canisius Golden Griffins (1-1, 1-1 MAAC) - 11
Monmouth Hawks (1-1, 1-1 MAAC) - 0
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – In the first games at MU Softball Park in 686 days, the Monmouth University softball team split with Canisius. The Hawks defeated the Golden Griffins 5-4 in game one before falling in game two, 11-0.
 
Freshman Julia Thuer (Middletown, DE/Smyrna) hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in the opener, ending the game 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs.
 
Senior Erika Coreth (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) went 2-for-4 in game one with a solo home run and a double off the top of the fence.
 
Senior Alyssa Irons (Rock Creek, OH/Jefferson Area) earned a complete game win, tossing nine innings while striking out seven batters.
 
Monmouth's record stands at 1-1 (1-1 MAAC), and the team will play another doubleheader tomorrow against Canisius.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"In game one, I thought Alyssa did a very nice job of settling in and keeping their hitters off balance as the game went on. We had some timely hits, and I was pleased with our approach offensively. In game two, I thought Canisius came out more aggressive and we had a couple of costly mistakes. This is a game to really grow from and understand that we have to work to make adjustments sooner. We look forward to getting back on the field tomorrow." – Monmouth head coach Shannon Salsburg
 
-Canisius jumped out to a 3-0 lead in game one, scoring on a wild pitch, a double steal, and a single.
-Coreth cut the deficit with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth.
-The Golden Griffins regained their three-run lead with an RBI double to right field in the fifth.
-In the bottom half, Thuer doubled to center field to score junior Lindsey Baron and senior Deangie Jimenez.
-One batter later, freshman Devin Coia tied the game with an RBI groundout to score Thuer.
-With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Thuer launched a deep ball to right center. The Canisius outfielder nearly made the catch at the wall, but the ball bounced over the fence to end the game.
 
-In game two, Canisius took an early 1-0 lead with an RBI double.
-The Golden Griffins scored three runs in the fifth inning, before breaking the game open with seven runs in the sixth.
-Harrington walked in the bottom of the sixth, but the next three batters were retired to induce the run rule.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-In her first career two games, Thuer picked up three hits, three RBI, two runs, and a walk-off home run.
-Irons improves her record at Monmouth to 38-17 with a 1.75 ERA. She has pitched 355.2 total innings with 46 complete games.
-Coreth launched her seventh career home run.
-Freshmen Julia Thuer, Devin Coia, Abby Warner, and Kiley O'Rourke all made their Monmouth debuts as well as sophomore Briana Hoskins.
 
UP NEXT
The teams will face off again tomorrow at 12:00 and 2:00 PM.