Pictured Above: Freshman
Zoe Bender (Photo: Aaron Cornia)
Box Score Game 1 | Box Score Game 2
West Long Branch, NJ – The Wagner softball team scored two runs in the 11
th inning to earn an exciting 5-3 victory over Monmouth on Wednesday afternoon in splitting the midweek doubleheader. The Seahawks dropped game one of the twinbill, 4-3.
Sophomore
Karen Prihoda (Hamilton Square, NJ / The Lawrenceville School ) led the way with four RBIs on the afternoon, while senior
McKaleigh Goodale (Bradenton, FL / Lakewood Ranch) threw eight scoreless relief innings in game two to give the Seahawks their fourth victory in the last six games.
With the split, Wagner moves to 8-17 on the year, while the Hawks now sit at 9-18.
Game 2 Recap – Wagner 5, Monmouth 3
In the nightcap, the Seahawks once again took the lead, when freshman
Kaila Smith (Millville, NJ / Millville) launched a solo shot to left center in the top of the second. The Hawks answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to claim a 3-1 lead.
Wagner fought back with an RBI single by freshman
Zoe Bender (Glen Rock, NJ / Glen Rock) in the third and a
Karen Prihoda RBI single in the fifth to tie the game at three.
From there on out, both teams traded zeros on the scoreboard, as neither team was able to get a run across in regulation. The Seahawks loaded the bases in both the seventh and ninth, but were unable to capitalize on their scoring opportunities.
In the bottom of the tenth inning, freshman
Alyssa Tucker (Laguna Niguel, CA / Santa Margarita Catholic) made a game-saving play as she threw out the potential winning run at home plate to keep the score tied at three apiece.
The Seahawks broke through in the 11
th inning, scoring the eventual winning runs. Freshman
Amelia Van Orman led off the frame with a base hit, before sophomore
Lauren Serrato (Litchfield Park, AZ / Verrado High School) reached on a fielder's choice. A walk to Prihoda set up Bender, who singled to left field, allowing Serrato to score on a fielding error. Next up, another error allowed
Brianna Tredway (Downingtown, PA / Downingtown West) to reach, scoring Prihoda.
Goodale earned her first victory of the season in relief of senior
Gina Massaro (Levittown, PA / Conwell-Egan Catholic) and allowed just eight hits over as many innings, keeping the Hawks of the scoreboard for the entirety of her appearance.
Game 1 Recap – Monmouth 4, Wagner 3
The Seahawks scored all three of their runs with one swing in the first game of the afternoon.
After
Kaila Smith singled, Tucker walked, and sophomore
Maddie Marable (Reno, NV / Earl Wooster) loaded the bases with another single, Prihoda (Hamilton Square, NJ / The Lawrenceville School) cleared the bases with a double to give the Green and White the 3-0 lead.
Wagner outhit the Hawks 8-5 in the first game, as Prihoda collected three base hits, while junior
Stefanie Aplin (Nesconset, NY / Smithtown East / Georgian Court University) collected two hits. Senior
Hana Gilbert (Valley Center, CA / Valley Center) also reached base safely.
The Hawks scored one run apiece in the third and fourth, before hitting consecutive home runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the late lead.
Junior
Morgan Brown (Buckeye, AZ / Verrado) was charged with the loss after six innings of work, allowing four runs while striking out three.
Next up, the Green and White will play six straight home games, including four straight Northeast Conference (NEC) games. The Seahawks will play Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday and Bryant on Sunday before taking on Saint Peter's on Tuesday.
