Monmouth Softball Tops Purdue & Falls To Southern Illinois
Monmouth Softball Tops Purdue & Falls To Southern Illinois
The Monmouth University softball team split day two of THE Spring Games, defeating Purdue, 7-5, before falling to Southern Illinois, 8-5.
MADEIRA BEACH, FL – The Monmouth University softball team split day two of THE Spring Games, defeating Purdue, 7-5, before falling to Southern Illinois, 8-5.
Monmouth vs Purdue | Replay
Monmouth launched four home runs in the opener, including senior Deangie Jimenez (Haverstraw, NY/North Rockland), junior Morgan Maziarz (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford Area), senior Kayla Rosado (Oradell, NJ/River Dell), and senior Amanda Hopeck (Green Brook, NJ/Watchung Hills).
Senior pitcher Alyssa Irons (Rock Creek, OH/Jefferson Area) earned her first win of the season, pitching a complete game with six strikeouts.
The Hawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game two, but the Salukis answered with five runs in the fifth before adding three more in the final two innings.
Monmouth's record stands at 2-2, and the team will wrap up the Florida trip against South Dakota and Georgia State tomorrow.
NOTES AND QUOTES
"We have a very challenging preseason to prepare for games like today. It was a tough day in terms of the schedule, including a Big Ten team and a team that was one of the last three out of the NCAA Tournament last year. We knew coming in that today would provide a challenge. What I loved about it is that we weren't perfect, but found a way to fight through. Our offense was on fire, which was exciting. We have some things to work on, but I'm excited about the direction of the team. There is tons of energy and potential." – Monmouth head coach Shannon Salsburg
In game one, the first three innings went scoreless, as Irons racked up four strikeouts.
- In the top of the fourth, Rosado and senior Amber Wozniak opened the inning with singles.
- After back-to-back groundouts, Jimenez launched a three-run home run over the left field wall.
- The next batter Maziarz extended the lead to 4-0 with a solo shot to center field.
- Purdue answered with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, including a sacrifice fly, an error, and a steal.
- With two outs in the top of the fifth, Rosado put Monmouth back on top with a home run to center.
- In the top of the sixth, junior Erika Coreth led off with a single. Hopeck quickly brought her home with Monmouth's fourth home run, this time to right-center to make it 7-4.
- Purdue added a run in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly, but Irons shut the door for her first win of the season.
In game two, the Hawks put four runs on the board in the bottom of the third. Junior Katie Harrington was hit by a pitch, and senior Sam Tomasetti hit a single to start the inning. Sophomore Lindsey Baron hit an RBI single to left field to make it 1-0.
- Rosado then brought home Tomasetti and Baron with a two-RBI single to center.
- After two more singles from Wozniak and Hopeck, Jimenez made it 4-0 with an RBI single.
- Southern Illinois answered in the top of the fifth, beginning with an RBI bunt. A two-RBI double and a two-run home run gave the Sakulis a 5-4 lead.
- SIU tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth, including two RBI singles.
- A double steal in the top of the seventh gave Southern Illinois an eventual 8-4 lead.
- Rosado led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, and Wozniak and Coreth followed with singles to load the bases. Hopeck grounded into a double play, but Rosado scored to make it 8-5. The Hawks then grounded out the end the game.