March 31, 2005
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Columbia lost two games to Monmouth, 7-3 and 7-5, dropping its record to 12-14 on the season. Marisa Marconi went 3-for-5 at the plate in the doubleheader, hitting two doubles and tallying two RBI.
The Hawks went ahead 1-0 in the first game, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning. Monmouth scored another run off a sacrifice fly in the third inning to go ahead 2-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Hawks exploded for five runs, combining for five hits, increasing their lead 7-0.
The Lions were able to push three runs across in the sixth inning, making the score 7-3. Lexie Costic led off the inning with a bunt single and moved over to second as Lisa Copeland drew a walk. In the next at bat, Hilary Parsons hit a hard grounder to the third baseman, who went to third but Costic beat her to the bag to load up the bases. Ciji Rich then hit a deep ball to the second baseman, who threw her out at first, allowing Costic to score. With runners at second and third, Marconi hit a double to left centerfield, scoring two runs.
Marconi finished the game 1-for-1 at the plate with two RBI. Jackie Adelfio pitched the loss for CU, tallying eight strikeouts in six innings.
Monmouth scored first in the second game, getting one run in the fourth inning, leaving the score 1-0 until the bottom half of the inning. CU went ahead 3-1, combining for three hits and a walk. Marconi led off the inning with a long double to right center. Alison Cordova bunted her over to third and Kacy Krisman scored her on a triple down the right field line. Krisman then reached home on a suicide squeeze by Shelle Borton, ending the scoring for the inning.
Columbia made the score 5-1 in the fifth inning, scoring two more runs. Rich started the inning with a walk and moved to second on a single by Marconi. The right fielder committed fielding error on the play allowing the runners to go to second and third. Rich then reached the plate on a suicide squeeze by Cordova and then Marconi scored on a wild pitch.
Monmouth, however, had an answer in the bottom half of the inning, scoring six runs to go ahead 7-5. The Hawks combined for six hits and capitalized on two CU errors to take the lead.
Pitcher Megan Ivey threw the loss, pitching 4.1 innings, giving up eight hits and six runs (five earned) while striking out one. Marconi finished the game going 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
The Lions open up their Ivy season this weekend at Cornell. CU plays the Big Red on Saturday, April 2nd at noon.
