Galloway, NJ – Sophomore
KAYLA COSENTINO delivered an infield single in the top of the seventh of Game 2 as Montclair State clinched a berth in the NJAC Tournament with a 4-3 victory over Stockton on Saturday afternoon.
After dropping the opener, the Red Hawks (23-16, 7-11 NJAC) bounced back to claim the final spot in the conference tournament, which begins Tuesday, May 3. Montclair will head to top-seeded Rowan for a 4:00 pm match. MSU fell to the Profs by identical 3-0 scores back on April 16.
Needing a victory in the nightcap, Montclair got off to a good start as
STEPHANIE SERETIS crushed a home run in the top of the first inning for the quick 1-0 lead. But the Ospreys (23-17, 9-9 NJAC) answered that in the bottom of the inning on a Lily James home run and took the lead in the fourth inning, 2-1 on an RBI single by Kayla Posten.
Cosentino tied the game back up in the fifth with sacrifice fly and moved ahead later in the inning as Seretis came through with a single to left that scored
ANNALESA DILAURENZIO giving MSU the 3-2 advantage. The Ospreys knotted it back up a 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth with Gracie Meyer driving in a run with base hit.
In the seventh,
DANIELLE DECARLO led off with a walked and was sacrifice to second. A wild pitch allowed her to go to third which proved big as she was able to come home on the infield single by Cosentino.
The Ospreys would put the first batter on in the bottom of the seventh, but that was erased as second baseman
ALEXIS LAW turned a double play. An error allowed the inning to keep going, but Seretis, who came in relief to start the inning, retired James on a ground out giving MSU the victory and the trip to the NJAC Tournament.
Righthander
ALI CAVALLARO (12-7) went the first six innings allowing three runs and six hits, striking out six. Sereits earned her second save.
In game one, Stockton took a 2-0 lea in the first before Montclair got an RBI single from
KATIE DEBELL in the second and run-scoring double by Seretis in the third to tied things up. Charli Czaczkowski put Stockton back on top in the fifth with a two-run homer and Megan Sears added a two-run double for a 6-2 Ospreys lead.
Righthander Nerina Tramp made that hold up as she eanred the win to go to 6-2 on the season. Tramp allowed two runs on six hits, striking out four.
KAYLA VOLANTE suffered the loss.
