Monmouth softball opened the 2020 season in the Madeira Beach Invitational in Madeira Beach, Florida this past weekend with two wins and four losses.
Monmouth was unable to pull off a win in game one of the doubleheader to kick off the season against Mercer on Friday afternoon.
Senior pitcher Alyssa Irons pitched all nine innings against Mercer, not giving up a run until the eighth inning and struck out four batters.
Junior outfielder Katie Harrington sacrificed a bunt, sending junior outfielder Morgan Maziarz to third. Senior infielder Sam Tomasetti secured an RBI double, sending Maziarz home. Mercer answered in the top of the ninth with a pair of RBI singles, taking control of the game. The Hawks fell 4-1 in the end.
Monmouth took on Presbyterian Friday night and was able to come back from their loss earlier that morning, securing a win over the Blue Hose, 7-3.
Junior catcher Erika Coreth led the Hawks with two home runs, four RBI’s, and two runs.
Freshman pitcher Kyle Gletow earned her first career win, while she pitched six full innings giving up just two runs.
“Overall, it was a solid first day on the field. In game one, Alyssa threw very well, getting us into extra innings,” said head coach Shannon Salsburg. “To their credit, Mercer found a way to drop balls into slight openings in our defense, and that proved to be the difference. In game two, I thought Kylie pitched well and had a nice outing. Our defense was solid behind her, and the offense picked up from where we left off against Mercer. Erika had a huge day for us. We’re excited to get right back to it tomorrow and continue to grow.”
Monmouth went on to face Purdue and Southern Illinois Saturday and were able to come out victorious over the Boilermakers, but fell to Southern Illinois.
Against Purdue, Monmouth had an impressive four home runs coming from senior infielder Deangie Jimenez, senior first baseman Kayla Rosado, senior designated hitter Amanda Hopeck, and Maziarz.
Irons earned her first win of the season, while pitching a complete game with six strikeouts.
In game two on Saturday, the Hawks started strong with a 4-0 lead against Southern Illinois. The Salukis answered quickly coming back with five runs in the fifth and three more in the final two innings.
The Hawks ultimately fell short, losing to Southern Illinois 8-5.
“What I loved about it is that we weren’t perfect, but found a way to fight through,” said Salsburg. “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.”
To close out the weekend in Florida, Monmouth fell short in Sunday’s doubleheader.
The Hawks faced South Dakota on Sunday morning while Irons pitched six innings, giving up three runs, and striking out three batters.
The Hawks tied the game in the top of the fourth. Senior infielder Amber Wozniak singled to lead off the fourth and moved to second on a groundout.
In the top of the seventh, Hopeck singled and moved to second on a groundout. Monmouth fouled out and struck out to conclude the game. South Dakota got the win over the Hawks, 3-1.
In game two on Sunday against Georgia State, Tomasetti had a two-run homerun, the 13th for her career.
Monmouth was trailing for most of the game. The Panthers led 5-1 in the top of the fourth, and added three more runs in the top of the fifth. Georgia State led 8-1 in the fifth.
Monmouth quickly added three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Maziarz hit a lead-off single, while Tomasetti brought her home two batters later, with her homerun.
The Hawks went down fighting, but fell to the Panthers, 8-4.
“Today we didn’t play our best ball,” said Salsburg. “The good news is that everything is easily correctable. We look forward to tweaking a few things this week and getting right back to it on Friday in Georgia.”
Monmouth moves on to compete in Georgia Southern’s Eagle Round Robin Tournament next weekend in Statesboro, Georgia.
PHOTO COURTESY of Douglas DeFelice
