Little Falls, NJ (4/19/05) - The Montclair State University and William Paterson University softball teams split a New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader today at the MSU Softball Stadium. Montclair won Game One by a 5-0 count, before Paterson rallied for a 7-0 victory in Game Two. The host Red Hawks, who saw their seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) snapped, are now 18-6-1 overall and 5-5 in NJAC play, while the visiting Pioneers stand at 24-7 on the spring and 6-4 in the conference. It marked the second straight year that the two schools split their regular-season series.

Montclair State senior 3B KARI MCDONNELL and sophomore catcher MEGAN TANTUM each batted in two runs in MSU's Game One win, with McDonnell finishing 2-for-4 at the plate with one run and Tantum going 2-for-3. MSU junior pitcher ATHANASIA TOTARO improved to 11-3 by tossing a three-hitter over seven innings with two walks and three strikeouts, while also going 2-for-3 offensively. Junior hurler Jenn Scott took the loss for the Pioneers, falling to 13-5 in allowing nine hits, five runs, three earned runs and three walks in six frames against one strikeout. The Red Hawks scored twice in the bottom of the first inning before tacking on a third run in the second and two more runs in the sixth for their eighth shutout victory of 2005.

The visiting Pioneers took a 2-0 lead after one inning in the rematch and then broke the contest open with five runs in the fifth inning in posting their 13th shutout this spring. Sophomore pinch hitter Jamie Fields and freshman designated player Laura Maloney each batted in two runs for WPU, doubling home a pair of runs apiece in WPU's five-run fifth. Freshman 2B April Sardinas-Wyssling batted 2-for-4 and scored two runs in Game Two for the Pioneers while rookie pitcher Diane Schraer improved to 8-1 with just five hits and one walk surrendered in seven frames. MSU freshman right-hander CAROLYN MCCREA suffered her first career setback, falling to 3-1 after being tagged for eight hits, seven runs, five earned runs and two walks against two strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work. Tantum batted 3-for-5 with two RBI and a triple on the day for MSU, while junior 3B Nicky Arias finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for WPU. MSU sophomore SS Crystal Dahlhaus batted 2-for-5 and scored twice while handling seven putouts and four assists defensively with no errors.

Montclair State now hosts Hunter College on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at the MSU Softball Stadium while William Paterson will entertain Moravian (PA) College that same day at 3:00 p.m. in Wayne, NJ.