Wayne, NJ – The Montclair State softball team earned a crucial New Jersey Athletic Conference sweep against William Paterson Tuesday afternoon.

The Red Hawks (13-5, 12-4 NJAC) won 5-3, and 7-3 can finish no lower than third in the NJAC after completing the sweep today.

After a scoreless first inning in game one, the Pioneers (10-10, 9-6 NJAC) put the first run on the board in the bottom of the second as Caitlin Monahan hit a solo home run to centerfield. The Red Hawks battled back, taking the lead in the top of the third. Junior ANNALESA DILAURENZIO led off with a single and moved to third on an error and groundout. Sophomore JENNA MELUSO stepped and dropped a single into center field, plating DiLaurenzio, and KAYLA COSENTINO.

The Red Hawks added to their lead in the fourth, starting with a leadoff single from ALYSSA BOROZAN. Two groundouts moved the junior to third before DiLaurenzio singled up the middle to make the score 3-1. The host Pioneers cut into the lead as Lauren Naveo singled through the box to trim the deficit to 3-2. ALI CAVALLARO faced leadoff hitter Vanessa Archibold with the bases loaded, but Cavallaro got a pop-up to second to end the threat.

Cosentino singled to lead off the fifth before moving to second on a walk to KAYLA GALLO. After Meluso grounded into a fielder's choice, AMBER REED grounded out to short, but Cosentino scored on the play. Borozan was up next and reached on an error that allowed Meluso to score. The Pioneers got a run back in the home half of the fifth, but Cavallaro shut the Pioneers down for the last two frames. WPU put the tying run at-bat in both frames, but the sophomore held firm to close out the win.

DiLaurenzio was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate in game one, while Cosentino scored a pair of runs. Cavallaro earned her eighth victory of the season, allowing nine hits and three runs while striking out a pair.

The Red Hawks stormed out of the gates in the nightcap, tallying five runs in the first. The team used six one-out knocks to open the game in a big way. Cosentino and Gallo started the rally with singles before Meluso singled up the middle to send Cosentino home. Borozan made it 3-0 with a two-run double to center and moved to third on the throw. After a wild pitch sent Borozan scampering home, DiLaurenzio capped off the massive first inning with an RBI knock up the middle.

Not be outdone, the Pioneers answered back with two unearned tallies of their own. A fielding miscue prolonged the inning, but KAYLA VOLANTE got a groundout to third to end the inning. Montclair tacked a run in the third, with DANIELLE SIBILIO singling to center to plate Borozan, who led off with a single of her own.

Volante ran into trouble in the fourth, loading the bases with no outs. A fielder's choice got one out before a pop-up to second made it two. A fielding error allowed one run to score, but the senior hurler induced a fly out to right to squash the rally. Riding that big stop, the Red Hawks padded their lead in the fifth courtesy of an RBI single to center by Sibilio.

The Pioneers once again loaded the bags with two outs in the sixth, but Volante danced out of it by getting a groundout to first to prevent from crossing the plate. WPU had two runners on base in the seventh with one out, but a fly-out and line-out ended the game, allowing MSU to complete the sweep.

Every Red Hawk had at least one hit, led by three from Reed and two from Gallo, Borozan, and Sibilio. Volante surrendered just three runs, with none being earned.

The Red Hawks close out the regular season Saturday, hosting Rowan in a doubleheader beginning at 1 pm.