LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Elena Gonzalez (Ashburn, VA/Stone Ridge) hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the seventh of Game 2 as the Rider University softball team split with defending MAAC Champion Monmouth Tuesday afternoon on Ben Cohen Field. The Hawks took Game 1, 2-0, before Rider won Game 2, 4-3. With the split, the Broncs move to 11-11, while the Hawks are now 12-6.

The only scoring in a Game 1 pitchers' duel came in the top of the sixth, when Julia Thuer hit a two-run double to center. 2019 MAAC Pitcher of the Year Alyssa Irons pitched a complete-game three-hit shutout, striking out one without walking a batter. On the other side, Debra Jones (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) limited Monmouth to two runs, one earned, on four hits and three walks, striking out four.

In Game 2, Monmouth got out to a 2-0 lead with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Thuer contributed both RBI's with a double in the fourth and a bases-loaded walk in the fifth. Rider responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Grace Stansfield (Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter) led off with a pinch-hit single, and Gianna Epps (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) followed with a bunt single. Following a fielder's choice for the first out, Elena Gonzalez (Ashburn, VA/Stone Ridge) dunked in a single to shallow left field, scoring Stansfield. Lani Moreno (Claremont, CA/Claremont) punctuated the scoring with a two-run double to left center, giving Rider a 3-2 lead after five.

Monmouth evened the score in the top of the seventh on a Thuer double to right, but the Broncs cut down the go-ahead run on a relay from Moreno in right to second baseman Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) to Gonzalez behind the plate. After Jones got the final out in the top of the inning, Gonzalez sent a majestic fly ball down the right field line that stayed fair for the walk-off win.

Notes
- Jones took both decisions in the circle for the Broncs with the loss in Game 1 and the win in Game 2. She went a combined 9.0 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits and five walks. She struck out five.
- Anna-Marie Groskritz (Granby, CT/Granby Memorial) started Game 2, limiting Monmouth to one earned run on five hits without walking a batter. She struck out three.
- Niegocki also pitched 2.0 innings of relief in Game 2, allowing one earned run on one hit and two walks, while striking out four.
- Kelsey Marigliano (Seaford, NY/Plainledge) collected her 200^th collegiate hit in Game 2 with a third-inning double to right center. She now has 91 hits in parts of three seasons at Rider to go along with 109 hits in her first two seasons at Holy Family.  
- The Broncs return to action this weekend, when they travel to Marist for a pair of doubleheaders.
 
Broncs by the Numbers
- Stansfield, Chaela Crowder (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley), Moreno and Gonzalez each had two hits on the day.
- Moreno and Gonzalez each drove in two.
- Gonzalez scored two of Rider's runs, while Stansfield and Marigliano also scored once each.
- Gonzalez's home run was her second of the year, tying her with Moreno for the team lead.
- Gonzalez now has a team-best 26 RBI's, 11 more than the next-closest Bronc.