ANNAPOLIS, MD. ? The Monmouth baseball team suffered an 11-7 loss at the hands of the Duquesne Dukes in the Navy Baseball Round-Robin Tournament. Saturday afternoon marked the Hawks' third loss in a row, bringing their record to 2-8 while the Dukes improved to 2-10.
Duquesne struck in the top of the first inning as the Dukes were able to load the bases for Mike Carroll's one-out single to right field which plated two runners.
The Blue and White threatened in the bottom of the second as senior Kyle Higgins led off with a single up the middle. Junior Bobby Dombrowski contributed with a single of his own, advancing Higgins to third. With one out and runners on the corners, Dukes' starter, Ryan Juran was able to get Ryan Terry to ground out and Chris Collazo to fly to right to preserve the two-run advantage.
Duquesne added to its lead in the top of the third as Aaron Janusey doubled in the right center gap. Carroll then followed with a triple down the right field line extending the lead to 4-0.
The Dukes continued their hot hitting in the top of the forth, knocking in five runs. Anthony Manley started the scoring as he singled up the middle plating Mark Tracy. Eric Morrison then reached on an error by Terry scoring Manley and Derek Fallecker. Janusey reached by being hit by a pitch and then scored after a two run double by Carroll for his fourth and fifth RBI's of the afternoon and a 9-0 Dukes lead.
Monmouth finally answered back in the bottom of the sixth when Higgins led off with a walk and was able to quickly advance to second from a Rob Williams single. Dombrowski forced a full count walk loading the bases with just one out. Back to back singles by Terry and Collazo drove in Higgins and Williams and a wild pitch allowed Dombrowski to score. A walk by pinch hitter Brett Holland and a sacrifice fly by senior Andy Meyers cut the Dukes lead to seven. After a Tim McEndy walk loaded the bases for the third time that inning, Higgins drew the fifth walk of the inning which allowed Collazo to cross home plate.
The Dukes added to their lead in the top of the seventh after back to back walks and a single by Tracy. Brian Bernardo then doubled off reliever Tim Dexter, scoring Chris Happ and extending the Dukes lead to 11-5.
Monmouth's last rally attempt in the ninth started with a leadoff triple by Higgins. Dombrowski's single to right brought home Higgins cutting the lead to 11-6. Collazo walked loading the bases for junior outfielder Holland, who reached on a fielder's choice, plating Williams and cutting the lead to four. Despite the Hawks' best efforts, Dukes' reliever Jeremey Gerger was able to get Shawn Teters to fly to left field to secure the 11-7 win.
The Hawks starting pitcher, Brad Brach, who only saw 3.2 innings of work, picks up his first decision of the season with the loss. Juran will pick up the win, improving his record to 1-3 while Gerger picks up his first save of the season.
Monmouth returns to action on Sunday, March 16 in the last game of the Navy Baseball Round-Robin Tournament versus Maine University. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
