Montclair, NJ – Senior righthander
Alex Hill (Parsippany, NJ, Parsippany Hills) became the ninth pitcher in NCAA Division III history to record 100 career victories earning wins in both games as No. 3 Montclair State swept Richard Stockton in its NJAC opener at the MSU Softball Stadium on Monday.
Hill also delivered at the plate with five hits, including a home run and six RBI as the Red Hawks (17-1, 2-0 NJAC) extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 4-3, 9-inning victory in the first game and a 6-2 win in the second contest.
Senior designated player Nicole Chabak (Marlton, NJ / Cherokee) homered for Richard Stockton, which fell to 11-5 on the season (0-2 NJAC).
Hill added her name to the list of those who have won 100 games becoming the first to accomplish that feat since Coast Guard's Haley Feindel and Eastern Connecticut's Molly Rathburn both reached the mark in 2012. Hill, now 100-19 in her three-plus seasons at MSU, is one of only five hurlers in Division III history to win 100 games and strikeout 1,000 batters in a career. She currently stands eighth on the Division III list with 1,103 strikeouts.
In the opener, Hill wound up locked in a battle with Osprey righthander Michelle Pietrocola (North Brunswick, NJ / North Brunswick) as each made just one early mistake. Hill's came in the top of the first when Chabak lined a shot over the centerfield fence for her first of the season giving Stockton a 1-0 lead. Pietrocola also allowed a home run in the first however it was a three-run shot by Hill that put MSU in front, 3-1
That's the way the game would stay until the top of the sixth when sophomore third baseman Samantha Shockey (Deptford, NJ / Deptford) doubled up the gap in right center plating two runs as Stockton tied the game at 3-3.
Into the eighth-inning tiebreaker the contest went with each team squandering a chance to plate the go-ahead run. The following inning, a sacrifice moved Stockton's Marisa Ortiz (Manchester, NJ / Manchester Township) to third however Hill got a ground out and fanned the final hitter of the inning to end the threat. The Red Hawks capitalized in their half. After Hill sacrificed pinch runner
Giuliana Parisi (Elmwood Park, NJ, Elmwood Park) to third, shortstop
Brianna Davidson (Monroe Township, NJ , Monroe Township) lined a walk-off double to right center for the game-winning run.
Hill allowed nine hits and struck out 10 as she won the matchup with the previously unbeaten Pietrocola (7-1), who fanned eight and allowed just four hits in 8 1/3 innings. Pietrocola walked three and retired 11 batters in a row at one point.
Chabak had three hits for Stockton with Grace Long (Clifton, VA / Centerville) and Shockey each getting two. Davidson finished 2-for-4 at the plate for MSU.
The second game saw the Ospreys take an early 1-0 lead again in the first on an RBI single by Long. Richard Stockton would go up 2-0 in the fourth as Rachel Forte (Vineland, NJ / Vineland) scored on an error but Montclair answered immediately in its half as
Melissa Rustemeyer (Colonia, NJ, Colonia) belted a towering two-run home over the left field fence knotting the contest at 2-2.
The Red Hawks took the lead in the fifth putting runners on first and second with two outs. Hill drove a ball up the middle for an infield single that allowed
Lauren Guillen (Secaucus, NJ, Secaucus) to cross home plate for a 3-2 Montclair lead. After a walk to Rustemeyer, Davidson drew a free pass bringing in
Dana Amato (Hillsdale, NJ, Pascack Valley) for a 4-2 advantage.
MSU tacked on two runs in the sixth for the final margin. Fittingly it came off the bat of Hill who plated two with a bases-loaded single through the right side. She finished 4-for-4 at the plate.
Hill (13-1) would go on to get the win her 13th of the season as she allowed hit with three strikeouts after coming on in the fifth inning. Pietrocola (7-2) took the loss.
Montclair State goes right back to work on Tuesday, April 1 with another NJAC doubleheader as it travels to Rutgers-Newark for a 3:00 pm start at Alumni Field.
