The Monmouth Hawks dropped their first two games vs. Hofstra before taking the rubber match in extra innings this weekend.
The three-game set between the Hawks and the Pride saw a battle of high-flying offenses, as the two teams scored a combined 62 runs over the course of the three games.
The series kicked off on Friday, Mar. 21 in West Long Branch, with senior pitcher Kevin Opanel starting at the mound for the Hawks. Monmouth got off to a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a sacrifice bunt by first baseman Chris Walsh, but Hofstra responded in the top of the second with a two-run inning. In the bottom of the frame, Monmouth took the lead back thanks to two unearned runs. Hofstra took back the lead in the top of the fourth with a four run inning, knocking Opanel out of the game.
Hofstra would not give the lead back up after this inning. The Hawks got back within one run in the seventh, but Hofstra extended their lead in the eighth and held on for an 8-6 victory to take the opening game of the series.
The two would meet again for the second game of the set on Saturday. Junior pitcher Tommy Kent started for the Hawks, and a rocky start led to four Hofstra runs in the first two innings. A Jay Bant RBI single in the bottom of the first followed by an error by the Pride in the second inning kept Hofstra’s lead at 4-2 after two innings. Two Monmouth runs in the bottom of the fourth tied the game, but Hofstra responded with a four run inning in the top of the fifth to take a 8-4 lead, knocking Kent out of the game in the process. After a wild pitch brought Bant home in the bottom of the fifth, the Hawks offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth, with Harry Padden, Casey Caufield, Bant, and Walsh all having RBI hits. The Hawks would maintain an 11-8 lead until the top of the eighth, when Hofstra scored three runs of their own to tie the game, setting up extra innings. In the top half of the tenth, Hofstra took advantage and scored two runs. Monmouth cut the lead to 13-12 in the bottom half of the frame, but the rallwy fell short and Hofstra closed out their second straight win over the Hawks.
The rubber match would take place on Sunday, with junior pitcher Austin Beard starting for Monmouth. This time it was Monmouth getting out to the quick lead, with a three-run second inning. Hofstra scored one run in the third, before tying the game with two more runs in the top of the fifth. In the top of the sixth, Hofstra’s offense would have their big inning, with five runs coming across, giving the Pride an 8-4 lead. The lead eventually expanded to 10-5 heading into the bottom of the eighth. Padden brought one run in with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, causing the Hawks to fall behind four runs heading into the bottom of the ninth. Bant led off the inning with a walk, setting up graduate student and outfielder Chris Andrews. Andrews worked a full count before smashing a home run down the left field line to cut the lead to 10-8. Walsh followed that up with a double, and junior outfielder Nick Lovarco took advantage and hit the Hawks second home run of the inning to tie the game at 10 in the bottom of the ninth. The next three batters for the Hawks struck out, setting up extra baseball for the second straight day. Hofstra brought in one run on a homer in the top of the tenth, before Andrews had his second clutch hit, an RBI double to tie the game at 11. A wild pitch allowed Andrews to move to third, and a second one brought him home to give the Hawks a 12-11 victory in the rubber match.
The win in the final game of the set improved the Hawks record to 10-13. They face Long Island on Wednesday, Mar. 26 before traveling to Maryland to take on the Towson Tigers in a three game set this weekend.
