On Saturday, Mar. 16, the Monmouth Hawks (8-17) went against CAA opponent the Hampton Lady Pirates (7-19) at the Monmouth University Softball Park at 2 p.m. This was the second out of three games that they would face each other in the 2024 season. As the Hawks found themselves in a good position last game winning 5-4, they fell short and lost the game 2-10 which slightly set them back.
The beginning of the game started slow with no runs in the first two innings. The Hawks took the lead with 2-0 in the fourth inning behind a two-run third, leaving Hampton to catch up. According to
Monmouth’s Athletics Website, “Dani Dabroski singled followed a Lexi Castaneda walk to put two runners on base for Mackenzie Bloss.” Unfortunately, those were the last points that Monmouth scored for the afternoon. That play caused junior outfielder Castaneda and graduate student and outfielder Dabroski to steal a double when Hampton’s catcher’s throw sailed into left field.
Senior pitcher Ana Rodriguez struck out the first two batters in the fourth inning, but this dissolved when a long at-bat ended in a walk. The Lady Pirates were able to catch up when all five of their hitters reached base, including Brooke Williams, who hit a grand slam that brought the score to 7-2 with the Pirates in the lead in the fourth inning.
With the game slowly coming to a close, Hampton gained three more runs in the sixth which caused them to finish off the bottom of the fifth with a 10-2 victory. This gained them their first win in the CAA this season. The Hawks still lead the all-time series 3-2.
The Hawks faced Hampton for the third and final time on Sunday, Mar. 17, at noon, where they were able to secure their third win at home this week, the first coming from Wednesday’s game against Saint Joe’s. The Hawks will face Lehigh, today, Mar. 20.
