NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College Softball team showed its tenacity in a doubleheader sweep of Harford Community College on Saturday. The Mustangs jumped out to a big lead in game one and prevailed, 9-3, but had to show some fight in a come-from-behind, 7-5 triumph in game two. The team is now 7-5 on the season.
Taylor White played with an archer’s accuracy. The sophomore hit a pair of homers in game one, keying the Mustangs victory. Both shots landed in right center field, in nearly the exact same spot.
White led off the first inning with her first homer of the season, a blast up the alley to right center field. Monroe added two more runs in the third, when Jasmine Guerra reached on an error and White homered again, giving the Mustangs a 3-0 lead.
Monroe put the game out of reach with four runs in the fourth. Kylie Bitz and Crystal Estrada both reached via singles, and Yeisy Cruz reached on an error. Guerra then drove in all three runners with a triple, but was thrown out at the plate trying for a homer. From there, White reached on an error and scored on a Brooke Boechler RBI base hit, bringing the score to 7-0.
The Fighting Owls scored twice in the fifth and once in the sixth to trail, 7-3. Monroe added two more runs in their half of the sixth for the 9-3 win. Breanna Kuhner had an RBI double, and Bitz drove in the other run. Brooke Kane earned the victory and improved to 4-1 on the year.
Monroe fell behind early in game two; Harford scored four times in the first and once more in the second to lead, 5-0. The team bared down and didn’t allow another run for the remainder of the game.
The Mustangs got two back in the second, when Veronica Casanova and Selena Aguirre reached on hits and scored on errors. The score went to 5-3 an inning later, when Boechler was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a Gabrielle Placencia walk, and came in on an error.
Monroe took the lead for good with four runs in the fourth. Boechler drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Placencia tied the game with an RBI double down the right field line, and Kuhner put the game away with a two-run homer. The Mustangs went on to win, 7-5.
White had a pair of hits in each game. Bitz earned the victory in game two, and is now 3-2 on the year. The Monroe College Softball team will face Suffolk County Community College in a doubleheader on Sunday at noon.