The Monmouth College Fighting Scots softball team was originally scheduled to start this season on the road with a Saturday doubleheader at Aurora University. However the field in Aurora wasn't ready so the games have been shifted to Monmouth, and to Sunday afternoon. The Fighting Scots and the Spartans will now play a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Monmouth College Softball Field.

The softball team went 1-9 last year with all 10 games played in Florida before the COVID-19 cancellation. The final game of the season was a 3-1 loss to Wisconsin Lutheran College on March 13 in Clermont, Fla. The last time the Fighting Scots played at home was a 5-2 loss to Illinois College in game two of a doubleheader split on April 9, 2019.   
 
Matchup History
 
Monmouth and Aurora have met 12 times with the Spartans leading the series 9-2-1. The teams have not met since a 2-1 Aurora home win on March 10, 2016. The most recent meeting before 2016 was a doubleheader split in Monmouth during the 2006 season.  
 
New Era
 
Sunday's doubleheader will be the first game as Monmouth head coach for Alexa McClaughry. She joined the Fighting Scots in May 2020 after the retirement of longtime coach John Goddard who won a program record 212 games over 13 seasons. McClaughry oversaw fall ball practice but most of that was without a full squad due to COVID restrictions on group sizes.
 
A native of McHenry, Ill. McClaughry was an infield standout at the University of Illinois-Springfield. She coached at Robert Morris-Springfield and MacMurray College before being named the 15^th head coach in Monmouth history. Her first season at MacMurray ended after six games in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Players to Watch
 
The Fighting Scots return 12 players from last season plus three transfers and nine freshmen
 
Junior third baseman/catcher Jessica Pauley (Moline, Ill.) hit a team-high .440 in nine games last season with five doubles, one home run and seven RBI. She enters the 2021 season needing  five doubles to break into the top 20 on the Monmouth career list.
 
Senior infielder Alison Trettin (Manito, Ill.) hit .278 in eight games last year with one home run, three doubles and a .611 slugging percentage. She has seven career home runs which ranks ninth on the career list.
 
Junior Jenna Pauley (Moline, Ill.) pulled double duty last season batting .278 in seven starts and also going 1-1 over eight innings on the mound. She will get the ball to start game two against the Spartans on Sunday.
Senior Brittany Enos (Fisher, Ill.) had one double and six total bases in six starts last season. She finished third on the team with 22 at-bats and hit .227.
 
Sophomore infielder Sarah LaHood (East Peoria, Ill.) started six games last season with one RBI and a .494 OPS.
 
Freshman Abigail Leber (Tremont, Ill.) is scheduled to start the opener on the mound for the Fighting Scots Sunday. Another freshman, Grace Goodrich (Lake Villa, Ill.) is expected to start at shortstop.
 
Among the transfers available for Monmouth this season are sophomore infielder Madelyn Belville (Rushville, Ill.), sophomore first baseman/outfielder MyKenzie Kloess (Dupo, Ill.) and sophomore outfielder Calista Warmowski (Spring Grove, Ill.). Belville and Kloess came from MacMurray with McClaughry. Warmowski previously played at Grant Community and enrolled at Monmouth last year but did not play in the 2020 season.
 
About the Opponents
 
The Aurora Spartans were 7-1 last season and return four of the top six hitters. Aly Teixeira hit .450 with eight RBI last season while Josephine Lytton batted .444 with six RBI.  Briana Lewis hit .333 while Ashley Talaga batted .304. On the mound Hannah Tomasko is back after going 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA last season. She had three complete games and two shutouts. Aurora is coached by Mike McKenzie who has seven NCAA appearances and 534 wins in 18 seasons with the Spartans.
 
Up Next
 
The Fighting Scots will travel to St. Louis on Thursday, March 11 for a doubleheader against Fontbonne University at 3 p.m. The next home game will be Saturday, March 27 with a 1 p.m. double header against Illinois College.
 
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