Game One
Canisius Golden Griffins (1-2, 1-2 MAAC) - 1
Monmouth Hawks (2-1, 2-1 MAAC) - 2
Game Two
Canisius Golden Griffins (1-3, 1-3 MAAC) - 7
Monmouth Hawks (3-1, 3-1 MAAC) - 8
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – After trailing 5-0 in game two, the Monmouth University softball team stormed back to earn a sweep of Canisius on Sunday. The Hawks won the opener, 2-1, before defeating the Golden Griffins again, 8-7.
Senior pitcher
Alyssa Irons (Rock Creek, OH/Jefferson Area/Hofstra) went 2-0 on the day, giving up just two earned runs in 12 full innings. Irons struck out 11 total batters and allowed just seven hits.
Sophomore
Riley Riendeau (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) reached on a fielder's choice to give Monmouth a 1-0 lead in game one, and junior
Lindsey Baron (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) extended the lead with an RBI single.
With Monmouth down 5-0 in game two, senior
Tommi Stowers (Columbus, IN/Columbus North/Western Kentucky) launched a grand slam to cut the deficit to one. Senior
Erika Coreth followed it up with an RBI single to tie the game.
Canisius regained the lead, but Coreth hit another RBI single to get back within one. Freshman
Julia Thuer (Middletown, DE/Smyrna) walked with the bases loaded to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, and senior
Katie Harrington (Kasson, MN/Kasson-Mantorville) was hit by a pitch to seal the win.
Monmouth improves to 3-1 (3-1 MAAC) on the season, and will continue conference play at Quinnipiac next weekend.
NOTES AND QUOTES
"I'm proud of our grit today. It was very Monmouth Softball. Alyssa threw well in game one, and our defense played solid behind her. We got the key hits. In game two, we got ourselves into a little bit of a hole, but our team really fought back. From there, it was a battle. We came up with some plays when we needed to. Offensively, we had some quality at bats at the end of the game. We're very happy to be 3-1, as Canisius is a solid team." –
Monmouth head coach Shannon Salsburg
-Monmouth took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second in game one. Baron led off with a double to left center, and eventually scored on a fielder's choice.
-Baron later made it 2-0 with an RBI single to score Coreth, who walked.
-Canisius answered with a run in the top of the fourth, but Irons shut the Golden Griffins down in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.
-In game two, the road team jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first.
-Canisius extended its lead to 5-0 in the top of the second with an RBI single.
-Seniors
Morgan Maziarz and
Deangie Jimenez both registered singles with one out in the bottom of the second. Junior
Danielle Dominik came in to pinch hit, and walked to load the bases.
-Stowers quickly cut the deficit to one with a grand slam to left field.
-Freshman
Julia Thuer followed up the big hit with a double, and later scored the tying run on Coreth's single.
-The Golden Griffins regained the lead with a run in the third and fourth innings.
-Monmouth quickly cut the deficit to 7-6 with an RBI single from Coreth in the bottom half of the fourth. Thuer scored again after reaching on a fielder's choice.
-Irons kept Canisius off the board in the final three innings.
-In the bottom of the seventh, Baron singled, Maziarz singled, and Riendeau walked to load the bases with one out. After a strike out, Thuer walked to bring home Baron. Harrington earned the walk-off win after getting hit by a pitch.
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Irons improves her record at Monmouth to 40-17 with a 1.73 ERA. She has pitched 367.2 total innings with 47 complete games.
-Stowers hit her second home run in a Monmouth uniform. She crushed a two-run HR against UMES last season.
-Coreth ended the day 2-for-4 with two RBI and three walks.
-Baron led the team with three total hits on the day.
-Harrington is batting .500 through four games this season (4-for-8).
-Thuer leads the team with five hits after opening weekend.
UP NEXT
Monmouth will travel to Quinnipiac for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.
