Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team was swept by Monmouth Saturday afternoon in a Northeast Conference doubleheader at the FDU Softball Field in Hackensack, NJ.  The visitors held on to win the first game, 6-5, before winning the nightcap, 8-0, in six innings.  With the victories, the Hawks improve to 16-14 (7-5 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 23-14 (5-7 NEC) overall.

In the opener, Monmouth struck first with a run in the top of the second to take a 1-0 lead as Kayla Weiser hit a one-out home run to center field.

The Hawks extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs.  Kate Kuzma stroked a one-out double down the left field line for the first run, and Chelsea Paprocki knocked home the second run with a RBI single to center field.

FDU got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on freshman Jordan Needle (Camarillo, CA/La Reina College Prep)'s two-out round-tripper to right-center field, cutting the deficit to 3-1.  The home run was Needle's fourth of the season.

In the top of the fifth, Monmouth extended its lead back to three at 4-1 on Weiser's RBI double to right-center field.

The Hawks added two huge insurance runs in the top of the sixth on Christine Scherr's one-out homer to take a 6-1 lead.

Heading into their last at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, the Knights showed signs of life.  After senior Catlin Bradac grounded out to start the inning, Needle reached on a throwing error by the third base.  Sophomore Maria Roney (Anacortes, WA/Anacortes) followed with a routine groundball to shortstop, but the second baseman dropped the ball for the force out at second, putting runners on first and second.

The next batter, freshman Bryana Dorado (Oxnard, Calif./Oxnard), ripped a double to the gap in right-center field to score Needle and move Roney to third, which cut the lead to 6-2.  Freshman Cindy Zamudio (Wilmington, Calif./Redondo Union) walked on four pitches to load the bases.  After a pop out to the catcher for the second out, senior Lauren Hamilton (Woodinville, WA/Woodinville) cut the deficit to 6-4 with a two-run single to left field as Roney and Dorado scored on the play.

With runners on the corners and two outs, senior Kirsten Shreve (Kent, WA/Kentwood) laced a single to left-center field to score Zamudio, but on the play, Hamilton was caught in no-man's land and was gunned down at third base to end the game, resulting in a 6-5 win for Monmouth.

Shreve had two of FDU's five hits on the day and two RBIs, while Needle scored a pair of runs.

Freshman Megan Reiner (Los Angeles, Calif./John Marshall) (13-4) was tagged with the loss.  In 5.1 innings of work, she allowed six earned runs on 11 hits, walked two and struck out seven.  Junior Marie Shaughnessy kept the Knights in the game with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.

Kayleena Flores went 3-for-4 to lead the Hawks' 13-hit attack.  Christine Scherr, Kaitie Schumacher and Weiser each added two hits with Scherr and Weiser collecting a pair of RBIs.  Monmouth was able to take advantage of three FDU errors.

Alissa Schoelkopf went the distance for the Hawks.  She allowed five runs, one earned, on five hits, while walking two and striking out two.

In game two, Scherr double to right field to lead-off the contest, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a single up the middle by Schumacher to give Monmouth an early 1-0 lead.

The Knights had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the second as Romey walked to start the inning.  She moved to second on Dorado's sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on Zamudio's single to left field to put runners on the corners with one out.  However, the next two batters recorded outs, leaving the runners stranded.

After neither team scored in the third and fourth innings, the Hawks scored five times in the top of the fifth to take a 6-0 lead.  The big blow off the frame was Kuzma's three-run bomb.

Monmouth scored two more times in the top of the sixth to extend its lead to 8-0.  FDU failed to score in the bottom of the inning, and the game was called because of the eight-run rule, resulting in the 8-0 win for the Hawks.

The Knights managed only three hits off Monmouth starter Lauren Sulick, who picked up the win.  In 6.0 innings of shutout softball, she walked three and struck out three.

Shaughnessy (6-6) was charged with the loss as she allowed six runs, five earned, on 11 hits, while walking one and striking out three.
Schumacher went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored to lead Monmouth's offense as they pounded out 14 hits.  Scherr and

Weiser added two hits and two runs scored.  Kuzma, Vanessa Cardoza and Alicia DeSanto also collected two hits with Kumza picking up four RBIs.

The Knights will return to action on Sunday with a NEC doubleheader against Quinnipiac.  First pitch is scheduled for Noon at the FDU Softball Field.