Clermont, FL – The Montclair State University softball team closed out its Florida Spring Break trip on Saturday afternoon.

The Red Hawks (4-6) fell to Juniata 6-3 in their first game before surging past Middlebury in their second contest, 12-0, in five innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks fell behind early in their opening contest, as Juniata tallied a run in each of the first three innings. The Eagles doubled their advantage in the fourth inning, as a leadoff double and an error put runners on the corners. An error followed by a single to left field pushed the advantage to five, and an error with the bases loaded later in the frame made the margin six.
• SOPHIA ALONSO led off the bottom half of the frame with a single to left center, and CARLEE IANNONE doubled during the next at-bat to put the Red Hawks on the board. After a KATIE BRUNNER walk, JORDYN HESTER singled to left field to plate Iannone, and MARIALYS RICOURT drove in the third tally of the stanza on a single to bring in Brunner. Juniata recorded three consecutive outs to escape the rally, making the score 6-3 after four. Montclair could not get closer, falling to the Eagles in the first game of the day.
• Montclair raced out to a six-run advantage in the top of the first against Middlebury, as they put the first two batters on with a walk and single. With two runners in scoring position following a ground out, Hester singled through the left side to break the scoring open. Later in the frame, AVERY MOCHRIE doubled the advantage with a single up the middle, and Brunner homered to center field to clear the bases. Ryleigh Glynn drove in the sixth run of the frame on a single to left center three batters later.
• SAGE RIZZI punched out three of the first six batters she faced, retiring the side in order each of the first two innings. In the second, the Red Hawks added to their lead on a leadoff home run from Iannone. With the bases loaded later in the stanza, LIZ MULLEN singled to left field to drive in Ricourt to make the margin eight. Hester got in on the offensive surge in the third with an RBI single through the right side, and Mochrie tripled down the right field line to increase the margin to double-digits.
• Alonso made the score 11-0 in the top of the fourth, as she singled to right field to drive in Jayla Vazquez from second. After another 1-2-3 innings from Rizzi in the circle, Mullen doubled to left center to drive in Montclair's 12th run of the day in the top of the fifth. Cheyenne Weigand entered the game in relief, shutting the door in the fifth, retiring three of four batters faced to close out the season-opening Florida trip.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Alonso led the way in game one with a team-high four hits, marking a new career-best.
• Montclair amassed 23 hits against Middlebury, their most in a single game since March 9, 2023, when they racked up 21 against Widener. Four Red Hawks tallied three or more hits in the contest.
• JULIANA CASILLAS and Mullen each recorded new career-highs in hits with four each in game two. Mochrie notched three to go along with two runs batted in, and Alonso collected three of her own to finish the day with seven across two games.
• Rizzi struck out seven batters over four scoreless frames in the circle, notching her first victory of the season.

FROM THE FIELD

"I'm happy with how we bounced back in game two today. 23 hits and our first home runs of the season from Katie [Brunner] and Carlee [Iannone]. Sage [Rizzi] threw a phenomenal game. We saw so many good things from our team down here at the Spring Games and look forward to getting back to work at home next week." - Head Coach Nicole Degenhardt

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will return to New Jersey and open a 12-game homestand beginning on Tuesday, March 18, as they will host Hunter. First pitch from MSU Softball Stadium is scheduled for 3:00 PM, with game two slated for 5:00 PM.