Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State softball earned a split with rival William Paterson University in non-conference action Saturday afternoon.
The Pioneers took game 1 8-0 before the Red Hawks came back to win 3-1 in the nightcap. Montclair is now 1-1 on the year, as William Paterson is currently 1-3. The two teams will meet again on April 27 in NJAC play at William Paterson.
The Pioneers threatened in the first, putting two runners on. Junior second basemen
AMBER REED dove to her left to record the first out before
KAYLA VOLANTE ended the threat with a strikeout.
KAYLA GALLO and Reed recorded two-out singles in the home half of the first, but a fly-out retired the side.
William Paterson broke through with four runs in the top of the third. They loaded the bases on a single, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch before Sydney Pace singled up the middle for the opening run. The next three runs crossed the plate without a hit, and WPU led 4-0.
The lead swelled to 6-0 in the fourth, as Carly McDaniel hit a double that plated two runs. William Paterson capped off the scoring in the fifth with Caitlin Monahan belted a two-run home run to left-center. MSU had one baserunner in the fifth but were unable to scratch a run across.
Gallo went 2-for-2 in the first game, as Vanessa Archibold went 3-for-4 for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers drew first blood in the second game, as McDaniel doubled home a run in the top of the first. The Red Hawks answered back to tie the game in their first at-bat.
AMBER POWERS and
ALYSSA BOROZAN opened with singles before
JENNA MELUSO reached on an infield knock to drive home Borozan.
Rookie
ALI CAVALLARO and Gianna Mulato matched zeros over the subsequent three frames, but both sides failed to score runners in scoring position. After a pitching change, Montclair State took the lead for the first time on the day with a two-out rally. Reed worked a walk and moved to third on a Meluso single. Catcher
DANIELLE SIBILIO dropped a single down the right-field line to score both Reed and Meluso.
Staked to lead, Cavallaro set the Pioneers down in order in the sixth before putting two runners on in the seventh. Lauren Naveo hit a one-out double to left-center before Ryan Tighe singled to left to put runners on the corners. Cavallaro settled down and coaxed a fly-out to centerfield to end the game.
Cavallaro allowed six hits and one earned run while striking out four and surrendering just two walks to earn the win. Meluso went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the nightcap, while Reed reached base twice.
The Red Hawks return to the MSU Softball Stadium as they host Centenary University in a doubleheader at 3 pm.
