Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Senior Stacey Klempel (Winter Garden, Fla./Ocoee) doubled home the decisive run in the fourth inning and Crystal Carlucci (Iselin, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) allowed one run in 4.2 innings pitched to propel Saint Peter's past Monmouth 3-2 in the nightcap of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) softball doubleheader on Sunday. The Hawks took the opener, 5-0.
With the game tied at 1, Kirsten Kelley (Seaford, N.Y./General Douglas McArthur) reached on an infield single to open the fourth and moved to second on Candice Koch's (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) groundout. The junior then came home on Schieler Collins' (Frisco, Texas/Wakeland) RBI double down the left field line to give the Peacocks (1-42, 1-19 MAAC) the lead for good. Klempel, who was playing in her final collegiate game, gave Saint Peter's a 3-1 lead on a run-scoring double to center.
Carlucci took over after the Hawks (26-19, 13-7 MAAC) tied the game at 1 in the third and only allowed one run on four hits with one strikeout in 4.2 innings of work. The junior was able to work out of a bases loaded jam in the third with a strikeout and a ground out. Monmouth had a runner reach third with two outs in the fourth, but a groundout ended the threat. In the fifth, the Hawks got a runner to third with one out before Carlucci induced a lineout and a groundout. The West Long Branch program got a run back in the sixth and had the tying run on second with one out in the seventh before a fly out and a line out ended the game to give the Jersey City team the win.
Collins paced Saint Peter's with two hits, a run scored and an RBI while Kelley recorded two hits and a run scored. Klempel and Koch both had a basehit and an RBI on the day.
Klempel and Lee Harrison (Las Vegas, Nev./Coronado) both were playing in their final games of their collegiate career. Harrison, who had a hit in the opener, posted a two-run single in her final at-bat at Jaroschak Field on Saturday while Klempel had the decisive hit in Sunday's victory.
Jill Freese paced Monmouth with three hits, a run scored and an RBI while Nicole Wieczorek recorded two hits, a run scored and an RBI and Katie Baron posted three hits and an RBI on the afternoon.
In the nightcap, Saint Peter's took the early lead and then scored twice in the fourth and held on for the victory. The Peacocks played spoiler with the win by giving Manhattan the second seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament while Monmouth falls into the first round of games.
Saint Peter's grabbed the lead in the second after Alyssa Cuevas (Sylmar, Calif./Bishop Alemany) walked, moved to second and came around to score on Koch's run-scoring single to center field for a 1-0 lead.
Monmouth tied the contest in the third on Chloe Howerth's RBI single to left center. The Jersey City team then scored twice in the fourth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Collins and Klempel. Amanda Riley hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth for the Hawks, but Carlucci was able to shutdown the West Long Branch program to earn the win.
In the opener, Monmouth scored five times in the fourth to earn a 5-0 win. Justene Reyes got the scoring started with an RBI single to center field before Ashalynn Umiamaka hit an RBI single to right center. Freese and Wieczorek followed with back-to-back run-scoring singles before Baron capped the five-run inning with an RBI single to center.
Tiffani Lambert (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South) took the loss in the opener.
It marked the second time in the last four years Saint Peter's has ended the year with a victory.
