Softball Sweeps Doubleheader from Monmouth |
|
||
4/9/05 -- Sophomore Randi Gillespie (San Jose, Calif.) homered in both games, junior Krystal Mejia (Sylmar, Calif.) belted a grand slam and senior Chelsea Crosby (Reno, Nev.) fired a three-hit shutout for Long Island, 5-3 and 9-0 winners over Northeast Conference foe Monmouth at LIU Field. The Blackbirds (9-22, 5-1 NEC) in game one were hitless before the fifth inning, when they broke open the contest with five runs to close the scoring. Senior Briana Mathiesen (Sylmar, Calif.) looped a single that eluded right fielder Jessica Christ, allowing junior Alissa Villanueva (Pacoima, Calif.) and Mejia to score and cut LIU’s deficit to 3-2. After sophomore Jessie DePippo (Westlake Village, Calif.) reached on a fielding error by shortstop Dawn Gilchrist, Gillespie drilled a three-run homer to left field. Gilchrist in the top of the seventh lined a one-out single and Sue Micchelli, who hit a two-run homer in the third, singled to bring the go-ahead run to the plate for the Hawks. But senior Jackie Brown (Westminster, Calif.) came through by striking out Heather Gordon and getting Kara O’Dell to fly out to left. Brown (4-10) struck out a season-best seven batters, permitting three runs and nine hits over seven innings. Monmouth’s Angela Rand was charged with five runs -- four earned -- and three hits over 4 1/3 innings. Gilchrist, Micchelli and O’Dell each collected nine hits, and Ashley Dellens lofted a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning for the Hawks (18-9, 2-2), who owned a 9-4 hits advantage. LIU took control of game two with a six-run third inning. Junior Leah Glenn (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and freshman Vanessa Mejia (Roanoke, Va.) had back-to-back RBI singles that gave the Blackbirds a 3-0 cushion. Krystal Mejia followed with the monster hit, cracking a grand slam to right center for a seven-run lead that chased Gordon from the circle. Gillespie drilled a two-run homer to right center in the fourth to cap the scoring as LIU outhit Monmouth, 8-3. It was her fourth home run of the season, two in back of Mathiesen for the team lead. Crosby (3-12) posted her second shutout of the season, striking out two without a walk and facing just two batters above the minimum. Mathiesen went 1-for-3 in game one to extend her hitting streak to seven games before going 0-for-2 in the nightcap. Gordon allowed seven runs and six hits over 2 1/3 innings with a strikeout and four walks. LIU visits Sacred Heart on Sunday for an NEC doubleheader beginning at 12:00 pm in Fairfield, Conn. |
