Game One (8 innings)
Monmouth (8-29, 7-12 CAA) – 3
Drexel (9-29, 4-11 CAA) – 2
Game Two
Monmouth (9-29, 8-12 CAA) – 6
Drexel (9-30, 4-12 CAA) – 4
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – In a pivotal matchup for potential CAA Championship seeding, the Monmouth University softball team swept a doubleheader versus Drexel on Saturday afternoon at MU Softball Park.
Fifth-year senior
Francesca Torraca (1-for-3, 2 RBI) played hero in a 3-2 game one victory for the Hawks with a game-winning single to left in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Monmouth jumped out to an early lead on an RBI single to center field by
Riley Riendeau (2-for-4, RBI) in the bottom of the second. Drexel managed to take the lead in the top of the sixth on an RBI triple and two-out single. The Hawks would answer in the bottom half, however.
Julia Thuer (3-for-4, 2 R),
Kiley O'Rourke (1-for-3), and Riendeau all singled in a row to set up a Torraca sac fly to tie the game at two. After a quiet seventh, Torraca the drove home
Lexi Castaneda – who was pinch running for Thuer – for the winning run in the eighth.
Billie Kerwood added nine strikeouts to her conference-leading total as she earned the complete game win.
In game two, the Monmouth bats exploded for a season-high 14 hits. The Hawks got things rolling in the second again on back-to-back RBI doubles by Riendeau (3-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 R) and Torraca (3-for-3, 2 RBI). Drexel would cut the Hawk lead in half in the fourth with a run, but MU answered with three tallies in the bottom half of the inning thanks to six singles. Thuer (1-for-4, R) led off the next frame with a double, and Riendeau singled her home a couple of batters later to extend the lead to 6-1. The Dragons would get three in the seventh, but
Kylie Gletow came in and earned the save to preserve the 6-4 victory.
Kelly Toomey earned her first victory as a Hawk, going 6.2 innings while striking out six and walking just two.
NOTES & QUOTES
"What a great day of softball. Two awesome starts from both Billie and Kelly. I was pleased to see our defense step up and do a much better job today of making the routine plays behind them.
Offensively, I can't say enough about our lineup. From top to bottom, they were really committed to 'Monmouth hits,' and it showed as we scored a bunch of runs on really hard groundballs and line drives.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow and to go after that third win." – Head Coach
Shannon Salsburg
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Francesca Torraca extended her hitting streak to seven games. She is hitting .478 (11-for-23) with nine RBI during the stretch.
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Kelly Toomey earned her first win as a Hawk.
- It's the first time the Hawks have beaten the Dragons since 1997.
NUMBER CRUNCH
- Torraca leads the team with 31 hits in 2023.
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Julia Thuer collected her third double of the season.
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Billie Kerwood leads the CAA in strikeouts this season with 135.
- Game two set a season high in in hits for Monmouth with 14.
- MU left 18 runners on base on the day, while Drexel left 15.
UP NEXT
The Hawks will finish the series versus the Dragons at 1 pm on Sunday, April 23. The game is set to be broadcasted on FloSports.