MADISON, N.J. – The FDU-Florham softball team rallied late in game one but came up short in a two-game sweep to King's College on Saturday afternoon at McManus Field.
The Devils (10-18, 5-9 Freedom) were edged 6-5 in the opener before the Lady Monarchs (16-11, 10-4 Freedom) rolled to a 14-1 victory in game two.
Sydney Worek (Bordentown, N.J.) went the distance in game one and allowed six runs (three earned), on eight hits, while striking out seven and walking one.
Trailing 1-0 in the home fourth,
Taylor Torre (Matawan, N.J.) sent a two-run blast over the center field fence, which put the Devils in front but the Lady Monarchs responded in the top of the fifth.
Three hits, three runs, and an error resulted in three runs for King's in the inning.
Debra Renner capped the scoring in the frame with a line drive single to centerfield and the Lady Monarchs led 4-2.
King's tacked on two more in the sixth and appeared to have the game sewn up heading to the home seventh but the Devils refused to go quietly.
Freshman
Kailee Sullivan (Monroe, N.Y.) came through with a pinch-hit, one-out single before
Amber Cordero (Monroe, N.Y.) also pinch-hit and drew a walk. With two away,
Paige Lillie (Mount Laurel, N.J.) clobbered a fastball over the centerfield fence for a three-run homer, which cut the deficit to one at 6-5.
Allison Herbert came on in relief of starter
Rachel Linso and recorded the save by getting the next batter to ground out to shortstop for the final out.
FDU-Florham leadoff hitter
Marlena Bevilacqua (East Brunswick, N.J.) went 2-for-3 in the loss as the Devils totaled eight hits as a team.
Game two was all King's as the Lady Monarchs jumped on FDU-Florham starter
Brittany Funicelli (Whippany, N.J) with five first-inning runs and never looked back.
Nicole Turner, Alizabeth Ellsworth, and,
Shelby Eby each delivered run-scoring singles in the first-inning outburst.
The Lady Monarchs tacked on three more runs in the second, highlighted by
Rachael DeTore's three-run blast and led 9-0 through two innings.
Senior
Colleen Moriarty (New Rochelle, N.Y.) knocked in the Devils' lone run with a single through the right side of the infield, which plated Torre.
King's completed the five-inning victory by adding on five more runs over the final few frames.
The Devils return to action tomorrow with a non-conference doubleheader against College of Staten Island. First pitch is set for noon at McManus Field.
