LOUDONVILLE, NY – In a doubleheader that was decided by just a pair of runs, Siena Softball fell victim to their first home sweep of the 2019 season, dropping a pair of contests to MAAC defending champion Monmouth Monday afternoon at Siena Softball Field. The Saints were edged out, 1-0, in eight innings, before taking a 2-1 loss to end the day.
Game One – Monmouth 1, Siena 0 (8)
Looking to continue momentum from a Saturday doubleheader sweep of Rider at home, Siena (18-22, 10-6) challenged the Hawks early on, standing seven batters defensively in the first five innings. Offensively, freshman Yamila Evans and junior Patricia Kalesse each go on board with singles in the home halves of the third and fifth innings, respectively, but could not advance any further. With Siena's Brooke Hughes and the Hawks' Alyssa Irons going toe-to-toe in the circle, Monmouth (30-15, 13-3) left a runner at second and retired the side in order in the bottom of the frame to send the Saints to their fourth extra inning contest in the last two weeks.
Monmouth struck early at the beginning of free softball, with first baseman Kayla Rosado shooting a solo home run over the fence in left center on the second pitch of the top of the eighth to break the tie. Irons then helped put down Siena in order to clinch the visitors a spot in the 2019 MAAC Championship. Hughes (6-10) took the complete game loss in the affair, striking out three in a season-long eight innings in the circle.
Game Two – Monmouth 2, Siena 1
Mustering up a combined five hits on the day, Siena trailed 2-0 when it broke on to the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth. Picking up where they left off, the Hawks saw a solo home run to the same spot in left center field give them an early lead, with freshman Lindsey Baron doing so in the game's first at-bat. Stepping in the circle for what would be her every inning of the day, Irons retired eight of the Saints' first nine batters in order, while an RBI single to shallow left plated an insurance run for the visitors in the top of the fourth.
Taking the field at home for the 18th time this season, which ties 2004 as the most in a single-season in the program's modern era, the Green and Gold brought a two-out rally in the home half of the following inning. After two batters quickly went away, freshman Natalie Marchese singled on a pinch-hit appearance, while classmate Sabrina Vargas and Evans came aboard on a hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch thereafter. Having set the program's record for career walks on Saturday, senior Madysen Cossack was then issued a free pass with the bases loaded, allowing Marches to make it a one-run game. A fly-out on the next at-bat left the bases full of Saints, however, with one more stranded in the bottom of the sixth, and the seventh ending after the side was retired in order. Irons (24-9) improved her mark as the conference's wins leader, while Maddie McMahon (10-7) added eight strikeouts to her growing total in her ninth complete game of the season.
Following the sweep, the magic number for Siena to clinch a spot in the 2019 MAAC Championship remains at two, with four contests left in the 2019 regular season to do so. The Saints close out their 2019 MAAC campaign with a pair of road doubleheaders this weekend, traveling to Manhattan on Saturday, May 4, and taking on Saint Peter's the following afternoon.
