Game One
Niagara Purple Eagles (9-11, 5-0 MAAC) – 5
Monmouth Hawks (5-26, 0-3 MAAC) – 0
Game Two
Niagara Purple Eagles (9-12, 5-1 MAAC) – 4
Monmouth Hawks (6-26, 1-3 MAAC) – 5
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – A walk-off RBI single by catcher
Abby Warner in game two helped the Monmouth University softball team (6-26, 1-3 MAAC) split its doubleheader with Niagara (9-12, 5-1 MAAC) on Saturday afternoon.
Warner's walk-off hit came on a 1-1 count with two outs and runners on first and second. The sophomore sent the offering to deep left field, with the ball bouncing off the bottom of the wall as
Emily Spencer came around to score. Spencer began the inning with a first-pitch infield single to second base and advanced on a walk by
Danielle Dominik.
The Hawks allowed two runs in the first inning on an RBI single to left field but quickly countered in their half of the first, taking a 3-2 lead. Following a pair of walks drawn by
Lindsey Baron and Spencer,
Stavi Augur connected on an RBI single to left field, plating Baron to cut the deficit in half. Later, Spencer would tie the game by scoring on a passed ball before
Eve Serrato doubled to left center, allowing Augur to come home.
The teams exchanged zeros in the second and third frames, but the Purple Eagles pushed two runs across in the top of the fourth, retaking the lead. MU evened the game up at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth when Augur tallied her second RBI of the game on a single.
Niagara also took a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game one, eventually taking the contest by a score of 5-0. Dominik reached base twice in the game for the Hawks, notching a single and a walk.
Billie Kerwood pitched all seven innings, allowing six hits while picking up eight strikeouts.
NOTES AND QUOTES
"I am happy for the girls. They did a good job of staying the course and found a way to win game two. We look forward to getting back on the field tomorrow." –
Head Coach Shannon Salsburg
-Warner's RBI was her 13
th of the season, which is second on the team
-Warner also caught three runners stealing in game one, bringing her season total to 17
-In game two,
Emily Spencer made her fourth start of the season in the circle and first since February 26 against Dartmouth
-
Lindsey Baron extended her on-base streak to 20 games, drawing a walk in each contest
-Augur notched her team-leading eighth multi-hit game and fifth multi-RBI game of the season in the back half of the doubleheader, going 2-3
-
Lexi Castaneda made her second and third starts of 2022, playing left field
-
Briana Hoskins made her fourth start of the season in game two as the Flex, playing right field
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth pitchers combined to strand six runners in game one and 15 in game two
-
Kylie Gletow entered in relief in game two and tossed four scoreless frames
-The Hawks hit .364 with runners in scoring position in the second game
-MU got its leadoff hitter on base three times in the first game and four times in game two
UP NEXT
The Hawks will play host to Canisius in a doubleheader tomorrow, April 10. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 11:04 a.m.
