Monmouth University’s Baseball Team (4-1) opened up the weekend’s competition on Friday in Greenville with an offensive showdown victory against SoCon favorite Wofford College (2-3).
The Hawks came out of the contest on top with a lopsided 18-9 final. On the mound for MU was Trey Dombroski, who held strong through six innings with only two hits. James Harmstead accounted for four hits at the plate, while Dixon Black drove four runs home, scoring four additional runs of his own.
The first pitch of the afternoon was doubled to left-field by Casey Caufield, who would be driven home shortly after on a line-drive single by Alex Baker. While the bottom of the first inning saw Wofford even the score with a homer, MU jumped back out in front in the third inning where they’d secure three runs on RBI’s courtesy of Joey Ventresca and Brady Mutz.
Dombroski would go on to dominate from the mound, retiring the final 13 consecutive batters he faced and allowing the Hawks to pile onto their lead. Monmouth extended their lead to 9-1 by the fourth inning, scoring five times with three runs coming off Black’s homerun over Fluor Field’s Green Monster in Greenville. Ventresca would follow suit with a two-run homer of his own later in the inning. The sixth inning saw more of the same for the Hawks offense, as Harmstead crushed one over the centerfield wall before Mutz and Jay Bant tacked on some RBI’s as well.
Wofford clawed their way back within 7 points with five runs in the seventh inning. This brought the score to 13-6, but this is as close as they would find themselves getting to a comeback. MU tacked on another five runs in the eighth on five hits. MU’s Stephen Aldrich would come in to secure the final seven outs of the contest to give Monmouth the victory at 18-9.
Saturday saw Monmouth Baseball (4-3) drop a pair of games to second-ranked Notre Dame in a Greenville double-header. The Fighting Irish got off to a hot start with a 16-2 opener before closing the night contest with a shutout at 9-0.
The opener saw Dan Klepchick pitch a shutout through three innings before the Irish cracked the seal in the fourth to make it 1-0. Following his start, ND tacked on three more in the fifth and another five in the sixth, jumping out to a 9-0 lead on the Hawks. MU took two runs back in the seventh on a James Harmstead RBI double. Harmstead would later score himself on a wild pitch. The two runs were all the Hawks could manage in the contest, as the Irish would go on to pile it on in the final innings, closing out the opener 16-2.
The nightcap saw Rob Hensey pitch an impressive six innings, allowing just two runs on three hits and one walk. After surrendering the two runs in the second, Hensey went on to retire 12 straight, and 13 of his final 14 batters. The Hawks had an opportunity to tie it up in the seventh, but fell short. Notre Dame stretched the lead to 9-0 in the seventh and eighth, closing out the nightcap with a shutout.
Monmouth University Softball competed in the Coastal Carolina Chanticleer Showdown this weekend, opening up on Thursday night against the host Chanticleers at St. John Stadium, dropping the opener 12-2.
Coastal Carolina took an 8-0 lead by the end of the second following four homers, shutting out the Hawks through the opening four. Lindsey Baron put MU on the board with a deep shot to center field. This was followed up by a RBI single by Stavi Augur, giving the Hawks their only two runs on the contest before the Chanitcleers closed it out 12-2 after five.
The second day of the Chanticleer Showdown saw MU Softball drop two matchups, the first being a 14-4 loss to Maryland before falling short against Dartmouth 6-2. The Hawks found themselves even with the Terrapins at two apiece after the first inning, before Julia Thuer drove home her second and third RBI’s of the contest in the bottom of the seventh. The Terrapins took control through the remainder of the contest, securing the lead in the first contest of the day.
MU and Dartmouth were locked in a 1-1 tie through the first four innings before Stavi Augur put the Hawks ahead with her first homer of the season in the fifth. Dartmouth regained the lead in the bottom of the inning, and would add an extra in the sixth to give them a four-run advantage and secure the victory.
Monmouth Softball’s final game of the Coastal Carolina Showdown found them falling short 3-1 against Dartmouth again in a closer contest this time around. The Big Green got on the board first in the second, but saw the Hawks tie the game up at one in the third, courtesy of Stavi Augur. The final four frames saw neither team cross the plate, sending the Hawks into extra innings for the first time this season. This was the second for Dartmouth on the weekend alone. The Big Green capitalized quickly in extras, striking for two runs in the top half of the inning before closing out the threatening Hawks in the bottom half, ending the contest at 3-1.
Looking ahead, Monmouth Baseball will face George Mason in an away three-game set this weekend from Friday to Sunday while MU Softball faces Fairleigh Dickinson at home on Friday.
