KEYSER, W.V., April 19, 2024 – Sarah Wall was perfect in Game 2 and reached a career milestone to make Monroe College history twice over, and to help secure a doubleheader sweep of WVU Potomac State College for the Monroe College Mustangs softball team on Friday. The Mustangs earned a 14-9 win in Game 1 before a 10-0 run-rule victory in Wall's perfect game in Friday's finale. The Mustangs improve to 18-23 overall, having won seven of their last eight games, while the Catamounts fall to 21-10 overall.
 
Wall's five-inning perfect game on Friday is the first one ever thrown by a Monroe Mustangs pitcher in the program's history. She faced the minimum 15 batters in the win, striking out nine of them while getting the other six to all fly out and help keep things clean. With one major milestone comes another, as Wall's nine strikeouts put her at exactly 400 career strikeouts over her two seasons at Monroe, making the program's career strikeout leader the first pitcher in program history to ever reach 400.
 
Wall's Canadian compatriot Marissa Thalassinos had a perfect day of her own in Friday's doubleheader. Thalassinos finished the day a perfect 8-for-8 at the plate, totaling nine RBIs, four runs scored, two home runs and four total extra-base hits to help the Mustangs to Friday's doubleheader sweep of the Catamounts.
 
GAME 1: Monroe 14, Potomac State 9
The Mustangs got off to an electric start in Game 1. Gabrielle Gonzalez led off the game with a double, and then Angie Ordonez was hit by a pitch. Thalassinos then rocked a three-run homer to the opposite field in left for an immediate 3-0 advantage. Not to be outdone, Amber Miltenberg followed with an opposite-field homer of her own over the fence in right-center, stretching Monroe's lead to 4-0 in the top of the first.
 
Unfortunately, Monroe's early lead was short-lived. With runners on first and third, Alexa Shoemaker hit an RBI double to get the Catamounts on the board. Jamie Kelly followed with another double, bringing two runs in to make it a one-run game. Braylee Corbin then grounded out to short, bringing in one more run to tie the game at 4-4 after one.
 
The Mustangs took the lead back in the third. Nathalie Mongrain led off with a single, and then Aisling Wilson drew a walk. Maricela Colon followed with a single, during with Mongrain was thrown out at home, but the umpire ruled she was obstructed on the play, ruling her safe to give Monroe a 5-4 lead. With two outs, Thalassinos came through again with a two-RBI single, pushing Monroe's lead to 7-4.
 
The Mustangs extended the lead once again with two outs in the fourth. Veronika Anderson led off the inning with a single, but the next two batters failed to reach base. Wilson then doubled, putting two runners in scoring position for Colon. Colon got the job done with a single that brought in both runners, but she was then thrown out trying to take second on the play, leaving Monroe on top, 9-4.
 
Eva Ochoa got one back for the Catamounts in the bottom the fourth when she hit a two-out solo homer, cutting Monroe's lead to 9-5. The home team got on the board again in the bottom of the sixth after putting a runner on third with two outs. Shoemaker provided an RBI single, getting Potomac State back within three runs.
 
The Mustangs put up a big seventh frame to give themselves more breathing room. Gonzalez got the inning started with a bang, blasting a solo homer to make it a 10-6 game. Ordonez then reached on an error, followed by a double by Thalassinos to put two runners in scoring position. Miltenberg drew a walk to load the bases, and then Anderson provided another big blow with a two-run double to bring the score to 12-6. Georgia Burr then grounded out to short, but it was enough to bring Miltenberg home to extend the lead to seven. Mongrain added one more run on an RBI single that scored Anderson to lead the Mustangs up, 14-6, heading to the bottom of the seventh.
 
The Catamounts did not go down quietly. After a Corbin single to lead off the inning, Emily Horn hit a two-run homer to cut the difference to six. A double and a single had runners on the corners for Katelyn Nazelrod, who hit an RBI single that brought in one more run for the Catamounts, but the Mustangs escaped from trouble after that point to hang on for the 14-9 win.
 
Gabriella Diaz went all seven innings to earn the win and even her record on the season at 8-8. Chloe Greise took the loss for the Catamounts to fall to 12-4 on the year.
 
Thalassinos first flawless game at the dish saw her go 5-for-5 with five RBIs, two runs scored, a home run and a pair of doubles in a huge Game 1. Anderson hit 3-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs and a double in the win. Colon finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Gonzalez homered and doubled to go with two runs and an RBI in a 3-for-6 effort in Game 1. Miltenberg also homered and finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Burr batted 1-for-4 with an RBI. Wilson walked three times to finish the game 1-for-1 with two runs and a double.
 
GAME 2: Monroe 10, Potomac State 0 (5 INN)
Wall's perfect game was the story in Game 2, as she shut down every batter she faced in the five-inning affair. But the Mustangs' bats stayed hot as well, fueling the team to a run-rule victory over the Catamounts.
 
The Mustangs once again got on the board quickly in Game 2. Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, but was then thrown out at second on a grounder by Ordonez. Thalassinos followed with a single, and then another by Anderson brought Ordonez home to put Monroe up, 1-0.
 
The Mustangs strung together five straight one-out singles in the second. Colon, Diaz and Gonzalez loaded the bases with the first three, and then Ordonez plated two runs with her single to make it a 3-0 game. Thalassinos finished off the run with a two-RBI single of her own to push the lead to five. Miltenberg walked with two outs, and then Mongrain singled in Thalassinos to leave the Mustangs ahead, 6-0.
 
A one-out error put Diaz on base in the third, and then a single by Gonzalez, coupled with an error by the Catamounts, resulted in Diaz coming home and Gonzalez standing on third with a 7-0 advantage. Thalassinos was hit by a pitch with two outs, and then Anderson reached on another error, bringing Gonzalez home to make it an 8-0 ballgame.
 
The Mustangs took an inning off before scoring their final two runs of the day in the top of the fifth. After a Gonzalez double, Thalassinos capped off her enormous afternoon with a two-run homer, hitting the eventual final score of 10-0.
 
Wall's perfect game improved her record to 9-10 on the season. Friday's shutout was her fourth in her last five starts. Wall threw a two-hitter against Lackawanna this past Tuesday, and a one-hitter 12 days ago at Rowan College South Jersey-Gloucester. Potomac State's Jamie Kelly took the loss in Game 2.
 
Thalassinos batted 3-for-3 in Game 2 with four RBIs, two runs scored and her team-leading sixth home run of the season. Gonzalez went 3-for-3 as well, scoring three times while hitting her team-best 11th double of the year. Ordonez knocked in two runs and scored twice herself in a 1-for-4 outing. Diaz hit 1-for-3 with two runs scored, while Colon scored once in her own 1-for-3 game. Mongrain matched them by going 1-for-3 as well, bringing in a run in the process. Anderson finished 1-for-4 with an RBI in Game 2.
 
After an exciting doubleheader on Friday, the Mustangs and Catamounts go at it two more times on Saturday, April 20, in West Virginia. Tomorrow's opener is set to begin at 1 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs). Read Full Article