WILKES-BARRE, PA (March 30, 2021) -- The stellar pitching of first-year Brandi McIntosh in game one and graduate student Kris Kocher in game two helped the hot hitting of the Monarchs offense as the King's College softball team swept the visiting Devils of FDU-Florham in a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) doubleheader Tuesday afternoon. The Monarchs improve to 9-5 for the 2021 season with the sweep.

Game 1 (W, 6-3):
FDU (3-7) jumped out to an early lead, 3-0, after one inning highlighted by a one-out double from Nicole Casale. Game one turned into a pitcher's duel, as there were just two hits, a two-out single from junior Lindsey Leppo in the bottom of the third and a leadoff single from Dani Sames in the top of the fourth, in the next two and a half innings of play before the Monarchs offense got started.

Sophomore Bailey Loyack got on with a one-out single before junior Kristi Ann Skok launched the two-run home run to dead center field to put the Monarchs on the board, still trailing 3-2, after four innings.

The Devils put two runners on base on back-to-back two-out singles from Colleen Conway and Casale, but a strong defensive play from sophomore second baseman Olivia Krupski stopped the FDU run.

King's took advantage of some timely hitting in the bottom of the fifth as they took the lead, scoring four runs on four hits. Sophomore Gabrielle Visconti worked a lead-off walk, and Krupski reached safely on a fielder's choice, putting runners on first and second. A sacrifice bunt from Leppo advanced the runners before a sacrifice fly from first-year Kiersten Krouse scored Visconti and advanced Krupski to third.

The Monarchs strung together a two-out rally starting with an RBI single from senior Mindina Lieback and a single from Loyack before both base runners advanced on a wild pitch. Skok delivered again, driving in a two-RBI single to right center to cap off the inning with King's leading, 6-3.

A quick sixth inning led to the Devils' final chance to make their comeback, but they were only able to get one runner on with a single from Kacie Centineo before McIntosh struck out the final batter to put the exclamation point on game one.

Skok led the charge for the Monarchs, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a run, while Loyack also had another excellent effort, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. McIntosh improved to 3-1 with the complete game, giving up just three runs, only one earned, and six hits while striking out three.

Casale and Sames led the Devils offense, both going 2-for-3, with Casale adding an RBI and a run. Ciara Hoffman recorded the loss as the Devils starter, pitching all six innings and giving up six runs on eight hits.

Game 2 (W, 6-1):
Kocher set the tone for game two, striking out three in the top of the first inning. Her teammates repaid the favor with their bats, plating five runs on three hits to take the early 5-0 lead in game two. Krouse led off the inning reaching safely on an error and advancing to second during Lieback's at bat.

Loyack knocked in Krouse with her third triple of the season before scoring on a sacrifice fly from Skok. Another Devils error put sophomore April Bonwit on base with two outs before Bonwit scored on three straight Monarchs walks. Back-to-back singles from Leppo and Krouse finished the scoring for the inning, leading 5-0 after one.

Another quick defensive inning for King's gave the Monarchs a chance to tack on another run in the bottom of the second on back-to-back doubles from Loyack and Skok, giving King's a 6-0 lead.

Neither team seemed to find a rhythm offensively in the next three innings, combining for just five hits, before a lead-off home run in the top of the sixth by Centineo broke the shutout and gave the Devils their lone run of the game as the Monarchs secured the win, 6-1.

Loyack paced the Monarchs offense and added to an already successful afternoon, going 3-for-4 just missing the cycle, with a double, a triple, two runs, and an RBI. Leppo went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base, and Skok drove in a team-high two RBIs in the win. Kocher recorded her third win and third complete game in all seven innings, giving up just one run on four hits and striking out eight.

Kristina Pelano led the Devils with a 2-for-3 effort to total two of the team's four hits. FDU's starter Dolly Garguilo took the loss, pitching one inning and giving up all six runs on five hits.

After a day off, the Monarchs will travel to Madison, NJ for the second half of their series with FDU-Florham on Thursday, April 2 with game one set for a 3:00 p.m. start in MAC Freedom play.