Softball crushed preseason Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) favorite Fairfield University with a 6-0 shutout in game one, and 8-2 in game two in opening games of the MAAC conference on Saturday afternoon.
In game one, senior right-handed pitcher Amanda Riley was a menace on the mound, pitching a complete game with 12 strikeouts, while sophomore right-handed pitcher Megan Stauffer picked up the game two win also pitching a complete game.
Head Coach Shannon Salsburg commented on the girls’ pitching performances. “Both pitchers threw outstanding today. Amanda [Riley] really shut them down in game one, and Megan [Stauffer] came in for game two and just got ground ball after ground ball. I couldn’t have been more pleased with their start.”
The Hawks took the lead early in game one with sophomore first baseman Kayla Rosado hitting a run batted in (RBI) single to right field, allowing senior outfielder Chloe Howerth to score. Howerth was able to score again twice more – once in the top of the third inning off of sophomore outfielder Amber Wozniak’s double, making the score 2-0, and again in the top of the fifth inning when senior outfielder Katie Baron hit a single and sent her home.
In the top of the sixth, the Hawks made the score the 6-0 shutout that they would eventually win with, starting with sophomore utility infielder Amanda Hopeck’s solo home run ignited the inning. Later, Rosado scored sophomore outfielder Sam Tomasetti on a groundout with bases loaded.
Monmouth once again got the early lead in game two by scoring three runs in the top of the second inning.
Sophomore shortstop Deangie Jimenez walked with the bases loaded, freshman outfielder Morgan Maziarz hit an RBI single, and Tomasetti on a fielder’s choice allowing Hopeck to score. Fairfield scored their first run of the day during the third inning, but Monmouth was quick to retaliate in the top of the fourth with one more run with Jimenez hitting an RBI double to right field.
The Hawks added three more runs in the top of the fifth inning with Baron hitting a double to right center to score Howerth, Wozniak hit another double to score Baron, and Hopeck hitting a single to score Wozniak, making the score 7-2. In the top of the seventh inning, Hopeck kept the momentum with yet another RBI single to send Wozniak home and making the score 8-2 where it stayed for the remainder of the game.
“Defensively, we had some huge double plays and our middle infielders did a great job of getting rid of the ball and getting that extra out,” said Salsburg, “Offensively, from top to bottom we were super aggressive and had quality at bats. Hopeck had such a big day for us, and she gave us a huge spark. Everyone contributed today and it was great to get those two wins to start conference play.”
After these two wins, the Hawks improve their record to 10-13 (2-0 MAAC). They will return to West Long Branch to play a double-header against Rider on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is at 12:00 p.m.
PHOTO TAKEN by Karlee Sell