White Pitches Marist Past Monmouth, 4-0
MAAC Sports
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Junior Melanie White was dominant on the mound, striking out eight and scattering three hits to lead the top-seeded Marist College softball team to a 4-0 victory over No. 5 seed Monmouth University in the 2014 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Softball Championship on Thursday afternoon at Fairfield University’s Alumni Softball Field.
The 6-0 righty was in trouble just once in the game, when Monmouth loaded the bases in the top of the first. She worked out that jam and then allowed a single base runner in the fourth and the sixth. White, who improved to 7-6, retired the side in order in four innings.
Marist got all the offense it needed in the bottom of the fourth when it scored four runs. Kyrsten Van Natta led off the inning with a single and stole second. She then scored on Alyssa Zahka’s double to right center. Janna Korak, Nicole Cheek and Haley Birnbaum followed with RBI singles to make it 4-0, which held up for the remainder of the game.
Monmouth’s best threat came in the top of the first, when it loaded the bases but was unable to score. After White struck out the Hawks’ first two batters, Vanessa Cardoza reached via a single, and advanced to second when Justene Reyes was hit by a pitch. Rachel Shotzbarger loaded the bases for the Hawks with a single, but White induced Kayleena Flores to fly out to centerfield to end the threat.
Korak and Nicole Cheek collected two hits and a RBI for the Red Foxes (27-22). Cardoza had two of Monmouth’s (22-20) three hits.
Monmouth’s freshman pitcher was effective in her own right, with the exception of the four-run fourth inning. She scattered eight hits and struck out six as she saw her record fall to 18-14.