NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., March 30, 2018 – The Monroe College softball team played a pair of exciting games against Lackawanna College on Friday at Flowers Park. The Mustangs picked up a walkoff victory in the bottom of the seventh of Game 1 by a score of 7-6, but fell in nine innings in Game 2, 6-2. Monroe leaves the day with a 13-8 record, while the Falcons move to 14-7.
 
Game 1: Monroe 7, Lackawanna 6
With one out in the first, Brooke Boechler sent a triple over the center fielder's head. Chantel Winstead wasted no time, singling through the left side to plate Boechler and give the Mustangs a quick 1-0 advantage.
 
Kacey Orlowski quickly tied the game for the Falcons, blasting a solo homer to center to lead off the second to make it a 1-1 game.
 
With runners on the corners in the top of the fourth, Brenda Reninga singled in the hole to short, bringing in a run to make it a 2-1 game. Later with the bases loaded, a fielder's choice off the bat of Ashley Walsh brought in Marina Pegula to put the visitors up by two. Sierra Mulgrew later drew a bases-loaded walk to leave the Falcons up, 4-1.
 
After Jordan Skoff drew a walk, Pegula tripled to left-center, bringing in the fifth run of the game for the Falcons. Pegula then scored on an infield single by Reninga to make it a 6-1 game.
 
The Mustangs began to chip away at the deficit in the top of the sixth when Brianna Martinez blasted a long fly ball down the right-field line, allowing her to spring around the bases for an inside-the-park home run and make it a 6-2 game. A trio of singles from Brianna Casiano, Luna Hernandez and Kimberly Zapata loaded the bases, and one more by Chantel Winstead brought in two to make it a 6-4 game. A single by Veronica Casanova loaded the bases again, and then Brooke Kane dropped a single into left, plating two more runs to tie things up at 6-6.
 
Casiano led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, and Zapata later reached on an error with one out. Boechler then hit a grounder to short that got Zapata out at second, but the throw to first got past the first baseman, allowing Casiano to score and give the Mustangs the walkoff victory.
 
Kane picked up the win to improve to 7-4 on the year. She threw the complete seven frames, allowing six runs on eight hits with five strikeouts. Ashley Walsh took the loss for the Falcons to fall to 2-4.
 
Winstead hit 3-for-3 in the win, knocking in three runs and scoring once herself. Martinez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, her first of the year. Casiano batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Kane finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
 
Game 2: Lackawanna 6, Monroe 2 (9 innings)
Friday's second contest did not feature any scoring until the game went into extra innings, in which a runner starts the inning on second base via the international tiebreaker rule. In the top of the eighth, Colleen Cwalina knocked in the leading run on a single up the middle to give the Falcons a 1-0 advantage.
 
With one out and a runner on second in the bottom of the eighth, Casiano singled to center to put runners on the corners. Hernandez then knocked her in with a single into left to tie the game and send it to another extra frame.
 
The Mustangs caught a break momentarily in the ninth when the leadoff hitter bunted into a fielder's choice that got the automatic runner thrown out at third. The Falcons had runners on the corners with two outs when a triple by Alexandria Thoman brought in two runs to make it 3-1. Orlowski then homered down the left field line to give Lackawanna a 5-1 advantage. A dropped fly ball put the next batter on second base, and a single by Sierra Mulgrew brought in another run to make it 6-1.
 
A groundout by Boechler to lead off the bottom of the ninth moved Zapata over to third, and then a single by Winstead brought in a run to make it 6-2, but that was all the Mustangs could get in their last at bat.
 
Kane shouldered the loss after tossing another complete game for the Mustangs. She falls to 7-5 after allowing just three earned runs in nine innings. Amanda Mowry picks up the win for Lackawanna to improve to 6-1.
 
Hernandez hit 2-for-3 with an RBI and a double in Game 2. Casiano also went 2-for-3. Winstead hit 1-for-4 with an RBI.
 
The Mustangs get back to work on Tuesday, April 3, when they visit County College of Morris for a doubleheader in Randolph, N.J. First pitch of Game 1 is set for 3:30 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's rugby, and the newly added club women's rugby team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level as of the fall of 2017.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe College Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).