TRENTON, NJ – Monroe Express softball hit the road Thursday afternoon for a non-conference doubleheader against the Mercer County Community College Vikings inside the Mercer Softball Stadium. The two game encounter saw the home team take both victories, after a 15-0 game one and a 17-0 game two. The Express fall to 0-6 with the pair of losses. 

Mercer Vikings 15, Monroe Express 0

Game one of Thursday's doubleheader slipped away early as Mercer piled on 10 early runs in the first inning. The Vikings scored on a single by Bella Truelove, a walk by Abigail Bell, a single by Mia Land, a groundout by Julla Hannawacker, a double by Bella Truelove, and a triple by Cierra Acevado all in the first period. The Express struggled to put runs on the board and had a tough time defensively containing Mercer, giving up 15 runs in total. A bright spot for the Express was a single by Dulce Duran in the second inning.

Shea Kreds earned the win for Mercer, as the hurler allowed one hit and zero runs over four and a third innings, striking out ten.
For the Express, Hilda Sanchez took the loss on the mound in game one. The pitcher went two-thirds of an inning, allowing 11 runs on six hits. Emily Velez threw three and a third innings out of the bullpen.

Mercer racked up nine hits in the day's first meeting. Three Vikings collected two hits in the contest, with nine in total. In addition, Mercer was sure-handed in the field and didn't commit a single error. Hailey Nardone had the most chances in the field with eight. Duran led Monroe with one hit in two at bats.

Mercer Vikings 17, Monroe Express 0

Like game one, Monroe fell behind early and couldn't recover in their 17-0 loss to Mercer in their second meeting of the day. Mercer did majority of their damage in the first inning, putting up 10 runs on the Express, including runs on a sacrifice fly by Bell, a walk by Lillian Torres, a single by Hannawacker, and a home run by Truelove. The Express were unable to garner any defensive momentum, giving up 17 runs. A single by Velez in the first inning was a positive for Monroe.

Delaney Misler was the winning pitcher for the Vikings. Misler allowed four hits and zero runs over five innings, striking out six and walking zero.
Velez was the losing pitcher for the Express in game two. She went two-thirds of an inning, allowing ten runs on three hits. Angelica Uribe threw three and a third innings in relief. Caitlin Molina, Jahemy Roman, Angelica Uribe and Velez all had one hit to lead the Express.

For Mercer, the Vikings tallied nine hits in total. Acevado, Hannawacker and Truelove each managed multiple hits for Mercer, where Hannawacker went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead her team. Lastly, the Vikings didn't commit an error in the field.

The Express open up April as they host the Orange County Community College Vikings Saturday (Apr. 1) in a non-conference doubleheader, inside Flowers Park in New Rochelle, NY. First pitch is at 12 PM.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 14 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Express, please visit us at www.MonroeExpress.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Express), Twitter (@MonroeExpress) and Instagram (@MonroeExpress).