Game One
Monmouth (6-23, 5-8 CAA) – 6
North Carolina A&T (9-25, 3-7 CAA) – 5
Game Two (9 Innings)
North Carolina A&T (10-25, 4-7 CAA) – 1
Monmouth (6-24, 5-9 CAA) – 0
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – The Monmouth University softball team split a Colonial Athletic Association doubleheader versus the North Carolina A&T Aggies at MU Softball Park on Friday afternoon.
The Hawks won game one, 6-5, behind timely hitting and a strong effort by sophomore
Billie Kerwood in the circle. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the third,
Abby Warner (3-for-4, R, RBI) continued her hot stretch and doubled home a run with one out. Mackeznie Bloss (1-for-3, R, RBI) followed with a hard line drive to left field that worked as a sacrifice fly, scoring
Francesca Torraca.
Torraca (2-for-3, R, RBI) singled in
Bri Lawson (2-for-3, 2 R, RBI) in the bottom of the fourth with two outs to give the Hawks their first lead. Monmouth stretched their lead to 6-2 thanks to a three-run fifth. Lawson drove in Warner on a fielder's choice, and then
Julia Thuer came through with a two RBI double to left center, scoring Bloss from third and Lawson from first. North Carolina A&T would chip away and produce a run in the sixth and two in the seventh, but
Kait Mulcahey shut the door with her first save of 2023 to win the ballgame, 6-5. Kerwood finished with the win, going 6+ innings allowing just two earned runs and striking out five Aggie hitters.
Game two was a nine-inning thriller that saw the Aggies come out on top, 1-0. Senior
Kylie Gletow threw a complete game, allowing seven hits, one earned run, and striking out five. The contest is the longest game at MU Softball Park since April 15, 2022, when the Hawks lost to Fairfield, 1-0, in 10 innings. It is the longest game the Hawks have played in this season.
NOTES & QUOTES
"Tough way to split. I thought both of our pitchers threw really well today. Billie did a great job in the first game, and we came through with some timely hitting.
In game two, Kylie pitched an awesome game. We had opportunities over and over, but we have to continue to work on having a consistent approach with runners in scoring position." – Head Coach
Shannon Salsburg
- It was the first ever meeting between Monmouth and NC A&T.
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Abby Warner had the third three-hit game by a Hawk this season.
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Kait Mulcahey earned her first save of 2023.
NUMBER CRUNCH
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Devin Coia leads the Hawks with a .304 batting average this year and extended her hit streak to six games.
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Billie Kerwood leads the Hawks in innings pitched (84.2) and strikeouts (96) this season.
- Game one tied a season high in in hits for Monmouth with 11.
- MU left 13 runners on base on the day, while A&T left 11.
UP NEXT
The Hawks will finish the series versus the Aggies at 1 pm on Saturday, April 8. The game is set to be broadcasted on FloSports.