Monmouth College 2004 Softball - Results and Game Summaries

April 30 at MWC Championships, Lake Forest, Ill.
Ripon 5, Monmouth 4
Lawrence 9, Monmouth 4 (14-20)
The Scots' hard luck in the MWC postseason continued this spring, as the team was eliminated on the first day of the tournament despite leading in both of their losses. The first defeat was the hardest to take, as Ripon rallied from two runs down in the bottom of the sixth. The Scots tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth when Nicole Auclair led off with a double and came around to score on a wild pitch. Monmouth then moved ahead in the top of the next frame on back-to-back doubles by Heather Burrows and Auclair and a single by Michelle Courchane. However, the Red Hawks benefitted from three Monmouth errors in the bottom of the inning to score three runs, two of them unearned. Emily Alsup was saddled with the hard-luck loss, yielding just one earned run while pitching a six-hitter. Auclair, who was 4-for-4, singled in the game's first run in the top of first. Against Lawrence, Auclair put MC ahead 1-0 with a first-inning sacrifice fly, and the Scots went ahead again in the third on Auclair's two-run double. But the Vikings pushed six runs across the plate in the bottom of the fourth, with two MC errors being partly to blame. For the game, six of LU's runs were unearned. Auclair ended her brilliant Monmouth career with an RBI single in the seventh. For the day, she was 6-of-7 with six RBI.

April 23 vs. Grinnell College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 4, Grinnell 2
Monmouth 1, Grinnell 0, 8 inn. (14-18)
With six seniors playing their final games at the Monmouth College diamond, seniors Heather Burrows and Michelle Meyer each had a hand in both victories as the Fighting Scots swept Grinnell 4-2 and 1-0 in eight innings. The sweep means Monmouth will qualify for the Midwest Conference tournament for the sixth straight year, unless arch rival Knox can pull off a sweep of Lake Forest on the road Saturday. Burrows drove in the winning run for Monmouth in the fifth inning of the opener, plating Meyer who had led off the inning with a walk. Pitcher Emily Alsup provided a strong outing, striking out 10 Pioneers while scattering six hits. Burrows took the mound in the nightcap, allowing just seven hits in the eight-inning shutout. With one out in the eighth, Meyer drove the first pitch to the gap in left center. She then took third on Michelle Courchane's ground out and scored when Burrows ground ball was misplayed. Burrows the retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to complete the sweep.

April 18 at Midwest Conference Classic, Janesville, Wis.
Carroll 9, Monmouth 1
Lawrence 2, Monmouth 1 (12-18)
Both the Fighting Scots' offense and defense failed to deliver consistently in four of the five games at the MWC Classic, resulting in a 1-4 record for Monmouth at the crossover event. The good news was that the North Division teams had the upper hand in the two-day event, so the Scots didn't fall too far off the pace of the other South teams. Lake Forest all but clinched the South Division title, but the Scots still find themselves in a race for the No. 2 spot. Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the fourth of the first game of the day, Carroll put up crooked numbers in each of their last three at-bats to win by the eight-run rule. Losing pitcher Heather Burrows had the lone RBI for the Scots. Emily Alsup pitched well in the finale, but the Vikings broke a 1-1 tie with an unearned run on the Scots' only error of the game. For the tourney, Nicole Auclair had four hits and four RBIs and Stephanie Smith had three hits and drove in three. Monmouth hit just .214 as a team and committed 13 errors, which led to 11 unearned runs.

April 17 at Midwest Conference Classic, Janesville, Wis.
Ripon 3, Monmouth 2
St. Norbert 3, Monmouth 1
Monmouth 10, Beloit 2 (12-16)
The Fighting Scots dropped a pair of pitchers' duels before busting out in their third game of the day to top Beloit in five innings by the eight-run rule. Nicole Auclair marked her return to the lineup with a three-run double in the Scots' half of the third that broke the game open. Allison Douglas added two hits and two RBI to make a winner of Emily Alsup. The junior transfer lost the opener of the tourney when a late rally by the Scots fell frustratingly short. Trailing 3-0, Monmouth had just one hit entering the bottom of the seventh against Ripon. But Stephanie Smith ripped a two-run double and, with no outs, the Scots had the tying run on third. After a groundout, Smith was retired at home, and the game ended an out later with Monmouth runners on first and second. In the middle contest, Heather Burrows carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth, but St. Norbert, which had already scored a run on two errors, got their lone two hits of the contest and scored two more runs, one unearned, to take the victory.

April 13 vs. Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill.
Augustana 4, Monmouth 0,
Augustana 3, Monmouth 1 (11-14)
The Fighting Scots couldn't take advantage of five Vikings errors and fell to Augustana  in the opening game of the twinbill. Emily Alsup was tagged with the loss, surrendering 12 hits to the hosts. Alsup's counterpart was able to work around poor fielding by tossing a no-hitter while issuing one walk. Monmouth got the lead early in Game Two, but couldn't keep it. Liz Sunday, who picked up two of the Scots' four hits, drove in the MC's lone run in the first, plating Michelle Courchane, who had reached on an error. Heather Burrows suffered the loss, allowing seven hits and allowing two earned runs.

April 10 vs. Lake Forest College, Monmouth, Ill.
Lake Forest 8, Monmouth 0,
Lake Forest 9, Monmouth 5 (11-12)
At the start of the season, the road to the MWC South Division title passed through Monmouth, the defending champ. Unfortunately for the Scots, the Foresters passed through Monmouth Saturday with a sweep, taking "the road to the title" honors with them. In the opener, Stef Smith's one-out single in the fifth and final frame was the only blemish on Leigh Anne Furgerson's bid for a perfect game. The nightcap was more competitive, and when the Scots scored four times in the top of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead, a split seemed eminent. But the Foresters struck back with three runs in the bottom of the frame and now hold control of the division with a perfect 6-0 mark. Smith had two RBIs for the Scots, who now must play well at the five-game MWC Classic next weekend to make a sixth straight postseason trip possible.

April 9 vs. Knox College, Galesburg, Ill.
Knox 1, Monmouth 0,
Monmouth 4, Knox 3, 9 inn. (11-10)
One unearned run gave Knox the victory in the opener, but Monmouth rebounded to take the nightcap with the aid of two stolen bases and a wild pitch. In pitching the majority of both games, Emily Alsup was both a victim and a benefactor of both games, earning both decisions. She was tabbed with her loss when Knox scored an unearned run in the third and her teammates could muster only four hits. She then came on in the nightcap in relief of starter Heather Burrows, who had surrendered three unearned runs in the second inning. Friday proved to be Liz Sunday's day at the plate, as she collected three of the Scots' six hits in the game. The outcome was decided in the second extra frame when Stef Smith drew a leadoff walk and stole second and third before advancing home with the game-ending run on a wild pitch. Monmouth's pitchers allowed no earned runs on the day.

April 6 vs. Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Ill.
IWU 2, Monmouth 1, 8 inn.
IWU 3, Monmouth 0 (10-9)
The Fighting Scots put their four-game winning streak on the line against some stiff competition, as the host Titans were an NCAA Final Four team a year ago. Monmouth had victory within its grasp in the opener, leading by a run with two out and nobody on in the bottom of the seventh, but the 7-8-9 hitters strung together consecutive singles to tie the game and force extra frames. In the bottom of the eighth, the Scots forgot to call time-out after an intentional walk. As their battery started to huddle for a conference on the mound, IWU's Brynn Haase broke for home and won the race to the plate, giving IWU pitcher Kelly Murray a school-record 48th career victory. The Titans also won the second game behind the four-hit pitching of Ashley Patten to run their record to 16-3. Heather Burrows, who was 2-for-3 in the opener, had Monmouth's lone RBI of the day.

April 4 vs. Cornell College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 8, Cornell 7, 13 inn.
Monmouth 7, Cornell 3 (10-7, 2-0)
Only two games in MC softball history have lasted longer than the game one victory, which wasn't decided until Katie Hamilton singled home Stacia Logan in the sixth extra frame. Monmouth recorded wins in 15 innings in both the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The game provided more than its fair share of excitement, as Cornell plated go-ahead tallies in the 11th and 12th innings, only to see Monmouth tie the game on an error and a passed ball, respectively. Emily Alsup pitched all 13 innings, and Stephanie Smith finished the game 4-for-6. The nightcap went a little smoother, as Heather Burrows went the distance and was her own best friend with three hits and four RBI. Michelle Meyer was 2-for-4 with two RBI.

April 3 vs. Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill.
Monmouth 3, Illinois College 1
Monmouth 9, Illinois College 1 (8-7, 2-0)
Heather Burrows was 3-for-6 at the plate and picked up the win in the nightcap as the Fighting Scots started the defense of their MWC South Division title with a sweep over the Lady Blues. In the nightcap, Burrows pitched a six-hitter, and her workday was shortened to five innings when the Scots secured a victory by the eight-run rule. Stephanie Smith and Allison Douglas each had a pair of hits in the game. The opener was a pitching duel between IC's Lindsey Stauder and the Scots' Emily Alsup. Although Stauder surrendered just three hits, four IC errors led to two unearned runs, and that proved to be the difference in the game. Alsup allowed five hits and walk while striking out six. Monmouth returns to action Sunday at the campus field to host Cornell College. The 1 p.m. doubleheader makes up for an earlier postponement against Aurora University. 

April 2 vs. Eureka College, Eureka, Ill.
Monmouth 4, Eureka 2
Eureka 5, Monmouth 4 (6-7)
Game one starter Emily Alsup had a chance to win both ends of the twinbill, but the Scots couldn't hold a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the seventh in the nightcap. With the score tied 2-2, Alsup relieved Heather Burrows in the sixth and, when the Scots scored two runs in the top of the seventh, a second victory for the junior seemed just around the corner. But Jessica Krones had a run-scoring single for the Red Devils and Devon Sloan won the game with a walk-off triple. Alsup breezed in the opener, allowing just four hits and an earned run. She struck out nine and walked just two. Stephanie Smith had three hits in the opener and finished the day 5-for-7 with two RBI.

March 27 vs. MacMurray College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 7, MacMurray 2
MacMurray 3, Monmouth 0 (5-6)
Emily Alsup made a four-run first inning stand up in the opener, scattering seven hits and two walks. Michelle Meyer started the big frame with a triple and Nicole Auclair had an RBI single. A two-out error allowed two more runs to score. Katie Hamilton added an RBI single in the fourth and Nikki Serra had a two-run double in the fifth. In the nightcap, the Scots had a gem pitched against them by the Highlanders' Alexis Johnson, who scattered four hits through the first three innings, then retired the final 13 batters. MC's Heather Burrows took a two-hitter into the top of the fifth, but three straight MacMurray singles led to a two-run frame, and the Highlanders added an insurance run in a wild sixth that had two hits, an error, a walk, a wild pitch, a passed ball and two runners thrown out on the bases.

March 20 vs. Simpson College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Simpson 3, Monmouth 0 (4-5)
Emily Alsup pitched well, but not as well as her counterpart from Simpson, who scattered seven hits in a shutout performance. Monmouth had runners on second and third with no outs in the second but couldn't score, and the Scots repeated the situation with one out in the fourth but again came up empty. Nikki Serra, Allison Douglas and Liz Sunday all had two hits for the Scots, while Alsup allowed just four hits and a walk. After surrendering a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, she faced just 18 batters to get the final 16 outs.

March 20 vs. UW-Eau Claire, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
UW-Eau Claire 11, Monmouth 2 (4-4)
The Scots took an early 1-0 lead on Nicole Auclair's RBI double, but UW-Eau Claire finished the game strong, scoring five times in the bottom of the fifth and ending the game by the eight-run rule on a walkoff homer by Mallory McKinney. Liz Sunday also had an RBI single for the Scots in the fourth, but it would be the last of MC's three hits on the day. Heather Burrows took the loss.

March 10 vs. Lakeland College, Ft. Myers, Fla.
Lakeland 6, Monmouth 5 (4-3)
The Scots' Florida trip ended on a disappointing note, as Monmouth let two leads slip away. Stephanie Smith's two-run homer put the Scots up 3-2 in the fourth, and Monmouth also led 5-3 before two errors in the sixth inning allowed Lakeland to score a pair of unearned runs off Emily Alsup. A triple and a single in the top of the seventh lifted Lakeland to the win.

March 10 vs. Rockford College, Ft. Myers, Fla.
Monmouth 12, Rockford 6 (4-2)
Catcher Nikki Serra continued her torrid hitting, blasting a grand slam in the fourth inning to break the game open. The junior transfer has 14 RBIs in her first six games as a Scot. Also belting long balls were Nicole Auclair and Natasha Kemmerling. Pitcher Heather Burrows benefited from the offensive display, notching her second win of the season, and she helped her own cause by going 2-for-4 at the plate.

March 9 vs. Drew University, Ft. Myers, Fla.
Monmouth 10, Drew 9 (3-2)
In a game that did not get completed until nearly 10 p.m. Eastern time, the Fighting Scots pulled out a come-from-behind victory on Stephanie Smith's bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh. The winning run marked the fourth lead change in the game. The Scots had trailed 9-8 entering their lat at-bat, but Heather Burrows delivered her fourth hit of the contest, and RBI double, to tie the score. Burrows, who is hitting .600 this spring, had a triple earlier in the game. Another offensive star was Nikki Serra, who was 2-for-4 with four RBIs. MC pitcher Emily Alsup notched her second win of the season, although Drew rapped 14 base hits.

March 8 vs. SUNY-Geneseo, Ft. Myers, Fla.
SUNY-Geneseo 1, Monmouth 0 (2-2)
While Monmouth's first game on Monday featured a less-than-stellar pitching performance by the opposition, the nightcap was a different story. SUNY-Geneseo's Audrey Kahn scattered three hits and two walks in her shutout gem, which was matched nearly pitch-for-pitch by the Fighting Scots' Emily Alsup. The juco transfer yielded five hits and two walks, and she had a shutout going until the bottom of the seventh, when the leadoff hitter reached on the Scots' only error of the game and eventually came around to score. Liz Sunday, Nicole Auclair and Heather Burrows had MC's hits.

March 8 vs. Wheaton College, Ft. Myers, Fla.
Monmouth 5, Wheaton 3 (2-1)
Despite being out-hit 10-3, the Fighting Scots picked up their second victory in as many days. Two walks, two wild pitches and an error helped Monmouth score three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 5-2 lead. Liz Sunday also had an RBI single in the decisive frame. Monmouth had scored two runs in the first inning on three walks and four wild pitches. Heather Burrows picked up the win, stranding 10 runners, including three in the top of the seventh. Nicole Auclair had two hits for the Scots.

March 7 vs. Norwich University, Ft. Myers, Fla.
Monmouth 10, Norwich 2 (1-1)
Emily Alsup made her pitching debut for Monmouth one to remember, going the five-inning distance against Norwich. Alsup allowed three hits and a walk while fanning nine. Michelle Meyer and Michelle Courchane each had three hits for the Scots, while Nikki Serra, Heather Burrows and Stephanie Smith added two apiece. Meyer, Serra, Burrows and Nicole Auclair each had had two RBIs. Serra, who ended her first day in a Monmouth uniform with four hits in seven at-bats and five RBI, also stole two bases in the nightcap.

March 7 vs. St. Ambrose University, Ft. Myers, Fla.
St. Ambrose 10, Monmouth 7 (0-1)
In their season opener, the Fighting Scots grabbed a 6-4 fourth-inning on Nikki Serra's three-run homer, but five errors in the last three innings allowed St. Ambrose to rally for a win. Serra, the Scots' new catcher, also scored three runs, and Allison Douglas had three hits. Losing pitcher Heather Burrows and shortstop Nicole Auclair added two hits apiece.