March 16, 2006
27th-ranked Monarchs make it five straight with 6-1 victory over Staten Island
Kennedy goes 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Methodist

FAYETTEILLE, N.C. – The Methodist Monarch women’s softball team warmed up for this weekend’s Early Bird Tournament on Thursday with a 6-1 victory over visiting Staten Island at Monarch Field. The victory was the fifth straight for 27th-ranked Methodist, which improves to 19-4 overall.

It took a few innings for the Monarchs to get on track offensively. However, with a 1-0 lead, Methodist scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Rebekah Kelly’s RBI triple scored Lisa Jackson from third, and then Kelly scored when Adrienne Acosta laid down a squeeze bunt for an RBI single. Two batters later, Acosta scored on an RBI single by Kristen Kennedy.

After Staten Island trimmed the Monarch lead to 4-1 with a run in the sixth, Methodist answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. RBI singles by both Kennedy and Shantell Dustin accounted for both Monarch runs.

Kennedy went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored for Methodist, while Acosta scored three runs and had four stolen bases. Freshman Lesley Hewitt was the winning pitcher, recording five strikeouts in four scoreless innings.

Brianne Russo went 2-for-3 for Staten Island (0-2).

Methodist participates this weekend in the Early Bird Tournament in Florence, S.C. The Monarchs play on Friday against Huntingdon at 11:30 a.m., Meredith at 1:30 p.m. and Averett at 5:03 p.m.