FINAL SCORE
Hampton (7-20, 1-5 CAA) – 3
Monmouth (9-17, 3-2 CAA) – 6
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Monmouth University Softball Team recorded 12 hits as they bounced back to defeat the Hampton Lady Pirates, 6-3, at MU Softball Park to win the weekend series, 2-1.
 
After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, Bri Lawson singled up the middle with two outs to score Savannah Simons from second to cut the Hampton lead in half. The Hawks struck again with two outs in the second, this time for two runs when Mackenzie Bloss drove in her first two RBI of the afternoon on a single to left, giving Monmouth a 3-2 lead.

Pitcher Billie Kerwood settled in after the rocky first to retire nine of the next 11 batters she faced including three strikeouts. Kerwood would finish as the winning pitcher throwing her fourth consecutive complete game and allowing three runs on eight hits with a total of five punchouts.

In the bottom of the fourth, Dani Dabroski (3-for-3, 3 R, RBI, BB) walked to lead off the inning. Simons (3-for-3, 2 R, RBI) moved her to second base on a sacrifice bunt, and Bloss immediately followed with her second RBI single to left to push the Hawks advantage up to two. Monmouth used doubles by Tessa Thompson (2-for-4) and Dabroski in the sixth to score run No. 5, and then Simons singled home Dabroski for MU's sixth run.

Hampton did not go down without a fight, as they scored their third run on a two-out knock in the seventh, but ultimately fell short as the Hawks got the final out to win their first CAA series and their ninth game of 2024.

QUOTE
"I am really proud of how the team responded today. It feels good to get our first series win, and even better to do it at home.

I thought Dani [Dabroski] was absolutely outstanding for us this weekend. She led the charge offensively, and she was all over the box score each game. Billie [Kerwood] pitched another great game, and the defense behind her today was the best we had all series.

It was a gritty win – I loved how when we went down early, we responded and took the lead away from them quickly. We look forward to continuing this stretch at home versus Lehigh on Wednesday." – Head Coach Shannon Salsburg

NOTES & NUMBERS
- Dabroski extended her hit streak to six games and is 10-for-16 during that stretch.
- It was Dabroski's fifth multi-hit game of the season.
- Simons leads the team with a .345 batting average.
- Bloss leads the squad with 16 RBI.
- Lawson has a new career high with 11 RBI.
- Kerwood pitched her 27^th career complete game.
- Monmouth leads the all-time series, 4-2.
- Monmouth left 10 runners on base on the day, while Hampton left seven.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks welcome Lehigh to MU Softball Park on Wednesday, March 20, for a 3:30 p.m. start.