NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., April 21, 2018 – The Monroe Mustangs Softball team split their sophomore day doubleheader against the County College of Morris on Saturday at the Flowers Park Softball Field, dropping game one, 9-4, before taking game two, 6-3, to move to 17-14 on the year.
 
Game 1: Morris 9, Monroe 4
Both teams went scoreless in the first, before the Titans took the lead in the top of the second inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Olivia Feiger slapped a single to center to score two, but Brooke Kane was able to get out of any further trouble, keeping the lead at 2-0.
 
But Kellie Faber kept the Mustangs' offense at bay for the first four frames, holding Monroe hitless till the bottom of the fifth.
 
Ally Tufaro inside-the-park home run made it 3-0 in the top of the third, before the Titans added three more in the top of the fifth on Feiger's three-run double to extend their lead to six.
 
Luna Hernandez reached with one-out in the bottom of the fifth before Brianna Casiano singled through the right side, giving the Mustangs their first hit of the game and putting runners at second and third. Kourtney Semper scored Hernandez on a groundout to cut the Titans' lead to five, but Morris came right back with three more in the top of the sixth.
 
Elizabeth Kelly reached on a throwing error and came around to score, before Melissa Ackerman's single with the bases loaded scored two more and extended Morris' lead to 9-1.
 
Selena Aguirre crushed a three-run inside-the-park home run to right-center in the bottom of the sixth, but the eight-run deficit proved to be too much for the Mustangs to overcome, as Faber escaped and set Monroe down in the bottom of the seventh to pick up an 9-4 victory.
 
Faber (13-3) earned the win for the County College of Morris, while Kane (9-9) took the loss for Monroe. Aguirre led the Mustangs at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a home run, run scored and three RBI.
 
Game 2: Monroe 6, Morris 3
After a slow start offensively in game one, the Mustangs quickly got on the board in the bottom of the first on Kimberly Zapata's leadoff, inside-the-park home run to take a 1-0 lead.
 
The Mustangs added another run in the bottom of the second on Zapata's RBI single with the bases loaded and another in the third when Chantel Winstead tripled and scored on a wild pitch, to extend their lead to 3-0.
 
Meanwhile, Casiano stymied the Titans in the circle, leaving runners on base in the first, second and third innings, while only giving up one hit.
 
After both teams went scoreless in the fourth, Katlyn Lloyd put County College of Morris on the board with an inside-the-park home run in the top of the fifth. But the Mustangs came right back with another inside-the-park home run of their own, this one off the bat of Brooke Boechler, to extend their lead back to three.
 
Monroe added another run in the bottom of the fifth on Luna Hernandez' RBI double, scoring Veronica Casanova from first, to take a 5-1 lead.
 
After Casiano again held the Titans at bay in the sixth, the Mustangs again extended their lead in the bottom of the inning. Abigail Cancilla led off with a single, and advanced to third on Brianna Martinez' double. Boechler knocked in Cancilla with a single, and the Mustangs led 6-1 headed to the seventh.
 
Morris got two against Casiano in the seventh, but she was able to get the final out of the inning to give the Mustangs a 6-3 victory, and a split of their doubleheader.
 
Casiano (7-3) picked up the win for the Mustangs, while Jonnalyn McClain (1-1) took the loss for the Titans. Zapata led the Mustangs at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, run scored and two RBI, while Boechler and Cancilla also each tallied two hits apiece.
 
The Mustangs are back in action on Sunday, April 22 when they head to Lincroft, N.J. to take on Brookdale Community College in a doubleheader beginning at 1 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).