The Monmouth men’s baseball team continues to battle it out on the field as they march through the season. On Friday, Mar. 8, the Hawks played in a double hitter against George Mason. Unfortunately, the Hawks lost in the double hitter, finishing the first game 5-6 going into the 10th inning and the second game with a score of 1-2. The Hawks stayed in Virginia where they versed the Patriots again on Sunday, Mar. 10. It was during this game that Monmouth won 12-7.
On Mar. 10, Monmouth won against George Mason with a season-high 12 runs in a 12-7 win. On this cloudy Sunday afternoon, the Patriots scored first with a run in the bottom of the first before the Hawks could get their bats up in the top of the third. Sophomore infielder #2 Matt Scrivanic opened up the inning with his first career home run to left center, leading the frame. RBIs from senior outfielder #10 Eric Sabato and infielder #19 James Harmstead helped boost Monmouth’s lead to 3-1. George Mason matched this score with two single RBIs in the bottom of the third, tying the score to 3-3.
In the top of the sixth, an RBI single from Harmstead gave Monmouth the lead, with a score of 4-3. The Hawks continued this lead as they played through the top of the seventh, with six runs on four hits. #8 Phil Stahl and infielder #13 Jay Bant both had a two-run single. The Hawks scored two more runs in the top of the ninth and minimized George Mason’s damage in the bottom of the ninth, securing a 12-7 victory.
Although the Hawks won this game, George Mason took the weekend series with a 2-1 and now holds the lead for the all-time series with the Hawks 5-4. Senior infielder #1 Casey Caufield recorded two hits in this game. He has six multi-hit performances this season and has hit in eight consecutive games. Infielder #5 Austin Denlinger continued his hitting streak to six straight games with a pair of hits.
The Hawks then flew to Philadelphia where they fought against Saint Joseph’s in a three-day battle, from Friday, Mar. 15, through Sunday, Mar. 17. The first game ended in a victory for Monmouth as they won 7-5 and went into the 10th inning for this game. The next day, they lost 6-10. Going into the match on Mar. 17, it was a showdown of the Hawks as the Monmouth Hawks and Saint Joseph’s Hawks competed again.
In this Friday afternoon game, the Monmouth Hawks took an early lead with three runs in the top of the third. #5 Denlinger had an RBI double in the inning with #10 Sabato and freshman infielder #30 Wyatt Hunt each adding an RBI single.
The Saint Joseph’s Hawks closed the gap to one run in the bottom of the third and fourth innings. Monmouth extended their advantage in the sixth inning when Denlinger blasted a sac fly to right.
In the top of the seventh, Harmstead hit his second home run of the season, making the score 5-2. A wild pitch by the Monmouth Hawks in the bottom of the eighth gave Saint Joseph’s a chance to run to score, making the game 5-3.
Saint Joseph’s scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at 5–5. Junior #21 Derek Benzinger entered the game with two runners on and lessened the damage to send the game to extra innings. Monmouth loaded the bases in the top of the tenth with two outs when Harmstead singled through the left side, scoring Denlinger and Caufield for the lead. Monmouth won this game 7-5.
It was Monmouth’s third extra-inning game of the season and the team’s first extra-inning win. Hunt recorded his first three-hit game of his career. Caufield had three hits, a season-high, and has now hit safely in nine consecutive games. Denlinger recorded two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored, sitting safely for seven consecutive games. Monmouth’s James Harmstead also recorded three RBIs, totaling ten RBIs in his last four games combined.
The Hawks will next fly to South Orange, New Jersey, where they will verse Seton Hall University on Tuesday, Mar. 19. Monmouth will then play at home from Mar. 22 through Mar. 24 against Towson.
