The Fairleigh Dickinson University softball team opened its home season on Saturday afternoon as the Knights hosted Northeast Conference intrastate rival Monmouth; the Hawks pulled out a close first game, edging the Knights, 4-3, before blanking FDU, 2-0, in the second game.
Fairleigh Dickinson falls to 7-19 this season, with a 1-5 record in NEC play, while the Hawks improve to 10-9 overall with a 5-0 record in league action.
The Hawks got on the board first in the opening game, putting two runs up in the top of the third and adding a run in the fourth and fifth innings for the 4-0 edge.
In the bottom of the fifth inning the Knights struck back as freshman Maire Shaughnessy (Culpeper, Va./Highland) (Culpeper, VA) and sophomore Alex Schubert (Maybrook, NY) drew back-to-back walks to put two runners on for sophomore Kirsten Shreve (Kent, WA/Kentwood) (Kent, WA), who smacked one over the left center field fence to make it a one-run game. The hit by Shreve was the Knights' first of the game and the home run was Shreve's third of the season and sixth of her career.
The Knights had a chance to tie up the game in the sixth inning as sophomore Caitlin Bradac (Garden Grove, CA/Garden Grove) (Garden Grove, CA) drew a leadoff walk and freshman Kara Boyd (Alexandria, PA/Juniata Valley) (Alexandria, PA) pinch ran for her, reaching third. As Shaughnessy stole second, Boyd tried to cross the plate, but was beat by the throw home.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Schubert drew a leadoff walk and a sacrifice bunt by senior Kristen Coughlan (Mount Royal, NJ/Kingsway) (Mount Royal, NJ) moved her to second. A groundout by Shreve advanced the tying run to third. With two outs, pinch hitter senior Trina Fields (Norridge, IL/Ridgewood) (Norridge, IL) drove one down the left field line, but the game ended on a runner's interference call.
Bradac fell to 6-4 on the season, scattering eight hits in seven innings and striking out seven while allowing two earned runs. Melissa Mehrer earned the win for Monmouth, holding FDU to two hits while striking out three.
The second game went through three scoreless innings before the Hawks put a run on the board in the fourth as Dara Palms had a sacrifice bunt to score Jessica Nicola.
Monmouth added another run in the fifth inning for the 2-0 lead as Emily deLong's double up the middle pushed Chelsea Paprocki across the plate.
Lauren Sulick was on the mound for Monmouth, improving to 4-2 this season with the two-hit shutout. Shreve took the loss for FDU, scattering six hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out two.
"I thought that the pitching was solid today," said Head Coach Dale Martin. "It is just difficult to win games without run support. We have to work on improving on pitch selection. Defensively, we still need to sharpen up on staying consistent with our execution."
The Knights are back in action at FDU Softball Field on Tuesday, April 6 when they host a non-conference doubleheader against Saint Peter's at 3:00 p.m.
