Montclair, NJ – Freshman shortstop
AMBER POWERS drove in four runs while sophomore
NICOLE MAJEWSKI tossed a four-hit shutout in the second game as Montclair State swept Drew University 8-5 and 4-0 at the MSU Softball Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Senior catcher
ALANA LUNA cracked a two-run home run for the Red Hawks, who improved to 13-5 on the year with the twinbill sweep. Adriana Rodriguez and Meghan Beyer had two hits and an RBI for Drew which fell to 7-12 on the season.
In the opener, Powers gave the Red Hawks a first-inning lead with a two-run single. Beyer got a run back for the Rangers in the third however Montclair plated two runs in the fourth for a 4-1 advantage.
KAYLEE POWERS doubled in the first run and
VALENTINA CUCCI added an RBI single through the left side.
Luna blasted a two-run homer in the fifth making the score 6-1 and the lead increased to 8-1 as
ELENA RADESICH singled in a run and scored on a double by
AMBER POWERS. Drew rallied with three runs in the sixth and scored once more in the seventh but Cucci, who came on in the sixth inning, closed out the game with a ground out.
Righthander
KIARA RUIZ (6-2) got the victory allowing four runs and seven hits in the first two innings. She struck out two and walked two. Stephanie Burns (3-4) took the loss for the Rangers.
Radesich and Cucci had three hits apiece for MSU with
AMBER POWERS,
KAYLEE POWERS and Luna collecting two each.
In the nightcap, Majewski (5-1) tossed her third shutout of the season. She got all the support she needed in the bottom of the first when Montclair plated five runs. Cucci drove in the first with a sacrifice fly and back-to-back RBI singles by
AMBER POWERS and
VICTORIA GEHRING made the score 3-0. Luna accounted for the final two runs with a double down the left field line.
SAM DICLEMENTI doubled in two runs in the third and an RBI double from
GABBY SLADE accounted for the last Red Hawk run.
AMBER POWERS and Gehring each had two hits for MSU, which saw every player in the batting order register a hit in the contest.
Montclair State is next in action on Saturday, April 7 with an NJAC doubleheader at Rutgers-Newark beginning at 1:00 pm. The Red Hawks are then scheduled to play Kean University on Sunday, April 8 at the MSU Softball Stadium with first pitch set for 1:00 pm.
