Fort Myers, FL (03/12/03) - The Montclair State University softball team improved to 6-0 this season with another pair of wins at the 2003 Gene Cusic Classic. The Red Hawks edged Transylvania (KY) University, 1-0, and then outlasted Monmouth (IL) University, 9-6, at the Lee County Complex.

MSU recorded its second straight shutout by avenging a season-opening loss to Transylvania from last year in Fort Myers. Senior outfielder ALLISON KREISS (Lakewood, NJ) tallied the game's only run in the bottom of the sixth inning as a pinch-runner, scoring from second base off an error by the opposing Pioneers. Junior pitcher CRYSTAL SWEENEY (Edison, NJ) improved to 3-0 this spring, scattering four hits, four strikeouts and three walks over eight innings for her 35th career win at Montclair.

The Red Hawks jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one half-inning and led 8-2 after three innings before holding on to defeat Monmouth (IL), which scored twice in both the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings. The victory was MSU's 10th in a row dating back to last April, the longest current winning streak in New Jersey Athletic Conference softball. Junior shortstop DIANA AUTERI (Lyndhurst, NJ) hit 3-for-5 with two RBIs and scored one run, while senior designated player SHANNA LeCOMPTE (Lakewood, NJ) drove in two runs in her only at-bat. Sophomore third base KARI McDONNELL (Wrightstown, NJ) went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while junior first base DANA SPRAGUE (North Arlington, NJ) was 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Freshman pitcher ATHANASIA TOTARO (Roseland, NJ) improved to 2-0 on the mound, walking one and striking out two while surrendering five hits and just one earned run in five innings, while also batting 2-for-3 at the plate. The opposing Fighting Scots managed eight hits against MSU pitching.

Montclair continues its annual Florida spring trip tomorrow against Wheaton (IL) and Norwich (VT) at the Northwest Complex in Cape Coral.