Monmouth Hawks softball

Monmouth Hawks softball
UniversityMonmouth University
Head coachShannon Salsburg (9th season)
ConferenceCAA
LocationWest Long Branch, NJ
Home stadiumMonmouth University Softball Park
NicknameHawks
ColorsMidnight blue and white[1]
   
NCAA Tournament appearances
2018, 2019
Conference Tournament championships
2018, 2019
Regular Season Conference championships
NEC: 1999[2]
MAAC: 2018, 2019, 2021[3]
For information on all Monmouth University sports, see Monmouth Hawks

The Monmouth Hawks softball team represents Monmouth University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). From 1984 until 2013, the team was a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC).[4] From 2014 until 2022, the team was a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).[5] The Hawks are currently led by head coach Shannon Salsburg. The team plays its home games at Monmouth University Softball Park which is located on the college's campus.[6]

History

Despite finishing in the top three of the Northeast Conference standings 10 times, the Hawks only managed to win the NEC regular season title once and failed win the conference tournament.[7] After moving to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 2014, Monmouth found significantly more success by winning the MAAC regular season title three times, doing so in 2018, 2019, and 2021, and winning the conference tournament twice in 2018 and 2019.[8][9]

The Hawks qualified for the 2018 NCAA Division I softball tournament, the Hawks first ever appearance in the tournament. In their first game of the tournament, they were defeated by Tennessee by a score of 9–0, losing via mercy rule in five innings.[10] They were eliminated from the tournament by Ohio by a score of 4–0, failing to score a run in either game of their first NCAA tournament.[11] Monmouth qualified for their second consecutive NCAA tournament in 2019. They again failed to score a single run in the tournament, losing initially to LSU 2–0 and were eliminated from the tournament by Louisiana Tech by a score of 1–0.[12][13] The Hawks won their final regular season title in the MAAC in the 2021 season.[14]

Monmouth officially joined the Coastal Athletic Association on July 1, 2022, after spending the last nine seasons in the MAAC.[15][16]

Coaching history

Years Coach Record %
1984 Rich DeFonce 8–11–1 .425
1985–1987 Virginia Sulovski 32–46 .410
1988 Lisa Leopold 13–16 .448
1989–1994 Patti Adorna 86–150–2 .366
1995–2001 Chris Wajda 205–133–3 .606
2002–2009 Carol Sullivan 179–176–2 .504
2010–2015 Louie Berndt 147–121 .549
2016–present Shannon Salsburg 179–176 .504[17]

Roster

2024 Monmouth Hawks roster
 

Pitchers

  • 31 – Billie Kerwood – Junior
  • 74 – Olivia Lewis – Freshman
  • 22 – Kait Mulcahey – Senior
  • 21 – Ana Rodriguez – Senior

Catchers

  • 27 – Devin Coia – Senior
  • 10 – Savannah Simons – Sophomore
  • 35 – Abby Warner – Senior
  

Outfielders

  • 20 – Lexi Castaneda – Junior
  • 13 – Dani Dabroski – Graduate Student
  • 30 – Kiley O'Rourke – Senior
  • 33 – Tessa Thompson – Sophomore

Infielders

  • 28 – Mackenzie Bloss – Sophomore
  • 12 – Emily Churchill – Senior
  • 15 – Bri Lawson – Sophomore
  • 8 – Giana Scotti – Freshman
  • 4 – Isabella Slape – Junior

Utility

  • 14 – Kaitlynn Place – Sophomore
  
Reference:[18]

Season by season results

Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Monmouth Hawks (Northeast Conference) (1984–2013)
1984 Rich DeFonce 8–11–1
1985 Virginia Sulovski 14–7
1986 Virginia Sulovski 7–16
1987 Virginia Sulovski 11–23
1988 Lisa Leopold 13–16
1989 Patti Adorna 16–23
1990 Patti Adorna 11–27–1
1991 Patti Adorna 14–29
1992 Patti Adorna 11–24–1
1993 Patti Adorna 12–25
1994 Patti Adorna 22–22 10–8 2nd
1995 Chris Wajda 37–19–1 11–5 4th
1996 Chris Wajda 23–25 12–4 2nd
1997 Chris Wajda 24–27 8–8 6th
1998 Chris Wajda 26–15–1 8–4 4th
1999 Chris Wajda 35–13 14–4 1st
2000 Chris Wajda 32–13–1 16–4 2nd
2001 Chris Wajda 28–21 18–4 2nd
2002 Carol Sullivan 18–23 12–10 5th
2003 Carol Sullivan 17–27 13–9 4th
2004 Carol Sullivan 19–23 12–6 3rd
2005 Carol Sullivan 29–20 10–10 6th
2006 Carol Sullivan 20–25 8–10 6th
2007 Carol Sullivan 31–18 13–5 T–2nd
2008 Carol Sullivan 19–22–1 9–8 5th
2009 Carol Sullivan 26–18–1 11–7 3rd
2010 Louie Berndt 30–18 15–4 2nd
2011 Louie Berndt 21–21 10–10 6th
2012 Louie Berndt 24–20 12–8 4th
2013 Louie Berndt 31–16 15–5 3rd
Monmouth Hawks (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2014–2022)
2014 Louie Berndt 22–21 12–8 5th
2015 Louie Berndt 19–25 12–8 T–5th
2016 Shannon Salsburg 29–21 13–7 T–3rd
2017 Shannon Salsburg 25–31 11–9 5th
2018 Shannon Salsburg 32–16 19–1 1st NCAA Regionals
2019 Shannon Salsburg 36–18 16–4 T–1st NCAA Regionals
2020 Shannon Salsburg 11–9 0–0 N/A

Season cut short due to COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 Shannon Salsburg 25–9 25–7 1st
2022 Shannon Salsburg 11–38 6–14 10th
Monmouth Hawks (Coastal Athletic Association) (2023–present)
2023 Shannon Salsburg 10–34 8–16 9th
2024 Shannon Salsburg 0–0 0–0
Total: 849–829–8 (.506)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

[17][19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Monmouth University Athletics Quick Facts". December 28, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  2. ^ "Monmouth Hawks - NCAA History". sites.google.com.
  3. ^ "Softball Standings 1986-2022". maacsports.com.
  4. ^ Star-Ledger, Brendan Prunty/The (December 15, 2012). "Monmouth University accepts invite to join MAAC in 2013, leaving Northeast Conference". nj.
  5. ^ "CAA adding three new schools to conference". ESPN.com. January 25, 2022.
  6. ^ "Facilities". Monmouth University Athletics.
  7. ^ "NEC Softball History". northeastconference.org.
  8. ^ "Monmouth Wins 2018 MAAC Softball Title". maacsports.com.
  9. ^ "SOFTBALL WINS SECOND STRAIGHT MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP". Monmouth University Athletics. 11 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Monmouth vs Tennessee DI Softball Game Summary - May 18th, 2018 | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.
  11. ^ "Freshmen Lead Ohio Softball to First Ever NCAA Regional Victory". Ohio University. 19 May 2018.
  12. ^ Auzenne, Josh (May 18, 2019). "LSU softball shuts out Monmouth in Baton Rouge Regional". www.wafb.com.
  13. ^ "Monmouth vs Louisiana Tech DI Softball Game Summary - May 18th, 2019 | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.
  14. ^ "2021 MAAC Softball Championship Field Is Set". maacsports.com.
  15. ^ Media, Adam Zagoria | For NJ Advance (January 18, 2022). "Monmouth is leaving MAAC, Big South for Colonial Athletic Association". nj.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Monmouth University Moving into Colonial Athletic Association". The Journal Magazines.
  17. ^ a b "2023 MUSB ALMANAC (PDF)" (PDF). Monmouth University Athletics.
  18. ^ "2024 Softball Roster". Monmouth University Athletics.
  19. ^ "2023 Softball Standings". caasports.com.