Usually the baseball team plays only conference games on the weekends, but this past weekend proved as a rarity. The Hawks played in a battle of the birds as they took on the non-conference Temple Owls in a two games series. One game was played Friday, at Monmouth while the other was on Sunday at Temple University in Philadelphia. Originally scheduled to be a three game series, the Saturday game was postponed with the anticipation of a heavy rainfall.
Starting in Friday’s game was Monmouth’s ace, right-handed Pat Light. Light battled through the first two innings allowing three hits and one run. He then pitched a perfect game from the third inning to the sixth inning maintaining a 2-0 lead over Temple. When asked how he felt during those stellar innings, Light commented, “I felt in control. You go four innings not giving up a hit and not letting a runner on base, you can’t not feel in control.”
It was in the seventh when Light ran into some difficulty against the Owls line-up. Facing the heart of the order, Light walked the first batter, ending his flawless streak. He then allowed the next batter to hit a single, pushing a runner into scoring position. Light managed to get the following batter to hit a the ball right back to the mound creating the first out of the inning. The next batter hit a single scoring both runners on base. “I felt good,” Light continues, “Just kind of left some pitches over the middle in the seventh, can’t win them all.”
Light walked off the mound after pitching six and a third allowing five runs (three earned) off of six hits. He also struck out five batters while only walking one. Light was throwing heat on Friday’s game was a 92-94 miles per hour consistency and even hit 95 at one point. His pitch count was a good spot with 90 pitches, 58 of those crossing the plate as strikes. Unfortunately, he did not have the support needed and was pinned with the loss. When asked to comment on Light’s game, Coach Ehehalt said, “He pitched good enough for us to win.”
Eventually, the game ended with a 5-3 loss to the Temple Owls. Even though the Hawks recorded a 5-3 loss against the Temple Owls, their defense as on top of their game. Monmouth turned two double plays. Rookie catcher Kyle Perry was able to catch a base runner attempting to steal second in the ninth. Big plays from the left side of the infield also proved vital in order to keep the Owls at a two run lead.
The same strong performance showed by Monmouth’s defense was not reflected in their offensive game. The men began the game with bases loaded and coincidentally ended the game with bases loaded. The support Light needed throughout the game was provided by only three players: second baseman Jake Gronsky who went 2-for- 5, shortstop Jon Guida who went 2-for-3, and left fielder Ed Martin who went 1-for-4. Gronsky’s first hit was called a ground rule double since the ball took a hop over the fence. He then touched all the bases via a shot out to deep center in the fifth off the first pitch he saw. Guida had an infield single, one RBI and one walk. He was able to score designated hitter, Tim Bickford, off a sacrifice fly to center. Left fielder Ed Martin brought in the third RBI.
It would appear that the current concern in which Coach Ehehalt has to deal with are the bats. Monmouth team’s anchor, third baseman Danny Avella, went 1-for-5 striking out three times. Right fielder Jamie Rosenkranz went 0-for-4 with one walk. Perry went 1-for-5 and struck out to end the game. What the Hawks did have going for them was their numerous base runners. Coach Ehehalt believes that the base running was not an issue in the game. “I thought our guys did a good job getting on base,” he says. While the men were hitting to get on base often, there was hardly anyone who was able to knock in an RBI. The Hawks wound up leaving a high number of 15 runners left on base by the end of Friday’s game.
With Sunday’s game, Monmouth was given a chance to even up the series. Unfortunately, the men fell once again to the Owls in a 7-1 loss. Starting pitcher for the Hawks was southpaw Dan Smith who worked three full innings giving up four runs off of six hits. From the get go, Smith had a rough break due to a home run hit in the bottom of the first which scored two out of the four runs he was accounted for. The Hawks attempted to battle back by scoring one run in the bottom of the second off a fielder’s choice first baseman Chris Perret. Andrew McGee replaced Smith in the fourth. He went four innings, allowing seven hits and three runs.
Once again, the Hawks faced a problem with their offense. “If our offense can get clicking, I think we have a chance to run off a bunch of games in a row,” Coach Ehehalt states, “Right now, that is what is preventing us from making the games easier… It is not fun when you don’t score.”
Attempting to get his offense moving, Coach Ehehalt made two moves which were new to the line up. Instead of the usual Martin as lead off, center fielder Josh Boyd was positioned at the top of the order. Also, Bickford was seen behind the plate instead of freshman Kyle Perry. Bickford enhanced the Hawks’s offense by going 2-for-2 with one run.
With the losses to Temple, Monmouth moves to 13-12 overall. The series does not affect the NEC standings since Temple is a non-conference opponent. The Hawks plan to host Lafayette University this Wednesday at 3:30 pm. They will then confront Quinnipiac in a four-game series Thursday through Saturday. All games will be played at home.
PHOTO COURTESY of MU Photography
