Sports

Softball Opens NEC Play 3-1

The softball team opened their Northeast Conference (NEC) and home schedule last weekend with double-headers against Fairleigh Dickinson and Bryant.

The Hawks split with Fairleigh Dickinson and swept Bryant.

MU won the opening game against FDU 1-0 on Saturday. Senior Lauren Sulick pitched a complete game three-hitter. She walked one and struck out three in the win.

The blue and white’s only run came in the first inning. Senior Tish Derer opened the game with a triple. Two batters later, sopho­more Kayleena Flores knocked her in for what proved to be the game-winning score.

Senior pitcher Jordan Barnett started the second game of the double-header. She pitched three innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits. She had no walks or strikeouts.

The Knights took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third inning. MU an­swered in the bottom of the inning with four runs of their own.

Senior Kate Kuzma reached base on a fielding error. Derer moved Kuzma up and reached base with a bunt. Flores knocked both of them in with a single and a throwing error.

Senior Kayla Weiser was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a throwing error when junior Katie Schumacher put the ball in play. Flores scored on the error to make it a 4-3 game.

Junior Shannon Fitzgerald sin­gled to tie the game at four at the end of the third inning.

FDU scored a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 7-4 lead over MU. The Hawks were unable to respond and lost by the same score.

The blue and white won both games against Bryant on Sunday, winning by scores of 7-1 and 6-5.

Sulick pitched the first game and threw all seven innings, al­lowing just one run, unearned. She walked four and struck out the same amount.

The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the second inning and it stood un­til the Hawks exploded in the fifth. MU scored four in the fifth and three in the sixth.

Flores went three for four and scored two runs in the game. Chumacher and senior Christine Scherr both had two RBIs. Fitzger­ald and sophomore Vanessa Car­doza each added an RBI.

Barnett pitched 6.2 innings Sun­day and tallied the win against Bryant 6-5. She allowed seven hits and five runs, four earned. She walked three and struck out one.

Freshman Cerissa Rivera pitched the final out of the game, picking up her first save of the season. She faced two batters. She walked the first and struck out the second.

MU fell behind 2-0 in the first but answered immediately to tie the game. Derer walked and scored to cut the lead in half when Flores singled to center. Fitzgerald followed that with a single of her own, scoring Flores to tie the game at two.

Schumacher scored in the bot­tom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to give the Hawks their first lead of the game at 3-2.

Bryant tied the game in the top of the fifth, and MU answered right back with two runs to take another lead.

Schumacher came to the plate in the bottom of the fifth with Flores and Weiser on second and third. Schumacher singled to bring them both home and give MU a 5-3 lead.

The blue and white added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Cardoza tripled to start the sixth inning and freshman Nikki Sandelier came in to pinch run. Derer singled to centerfield and the Hawks were on top 6-3 head­ing to the top of the seventh.

The Bulldogs scored two runs and cut the lead to one run at 6-5. River came in the game and closed it with a strikeout and gave the Hawks their twelfth win of the year.

The University softball team continues NEC play later this week. On Friday they travel to Connecticut for a double-header against Quinnipiac.

They will stay in Connecti­cut for two games against Sacred Heart on Saturday.

The Hawks are currently in sec­ond place in the NEC. They are one game behind Central Connecticut who is unbeaten after four games against conference opponents.

MU is a game ahead of FDU and Mount St. Mary’s who are both 2-2 in the NEC. Bryant is two games behind the Hawks as they are 1-3 in the conference.