PRINCETON, N.J. - Monmouth used three runs in each the seventh and eighth innings to rally for a 7-3 win at Princeton on Tuesday afternoon at Clarke Field. With the victory, Monmouth is now 14-8 overall and has won 12 straight games, and six straight over the Tigers.
Princeton jumped ahead with two runs in the first inning by taking advantage of two Monmouth errors. Derek Beckman reached on an error and went to third after stealing second and advancing on the overthrow. He scored on a single from Adrian Turnham, then Turnham scored on Spencer Lucian's single.
Monmouth got a run back in the top of the second when Paul Bottigliero led off with a walk and after a groundout and Rick Niederhaus' infield single, the junior crossed the plate on Chris Collazo's groundout.
Princeton regained the two-run lead with a run in the third as Lucian doubled home Jack Murphy. Princeton held onto the two-run lead until the seventh, when Monmouth recorded the first of its two three-run innings.
In the seventh frame, Collazo and Cal Costanzo led off with walks, before Kyle Higgins' sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position for Ryan Terry. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Terry singled through the right side to make the score 3-2. Andy Meyers followed with an RBI single and Bottigliero doubled to center to give the Hawks a 4-3 lead.
Monmouth posted three more runs in the eighth, as Terry drew a bases loaded walk, and Bottigliero's two-run single gave the Hawks the 7-3 advantage.
Langford Stuber allowed a run on five hits in five innings for the Tigers. He was relieved in the sixth by Matt Welsh, who took the loss, allowing three runs in two innings.
Monmouth reliever Nick Vallillo got the win following 4.1 scoreless innings of work, after coming on for starter Brett Conner in the fifth inning. Vallillo, 2-0 on the year has earned the win in his last two appearances. Senior Justin Esposito, who came on with two runners on in the ninth inning, got Jon Broscious to strike out to end the game, earning his fourth save of the year.
Bottigliero led the Monmouth 11-hit attack with his 2-for-4 outing with three RBI. Terry added two hits and two RBI, while Niederhaus added two base knocks as well for the Hawks.
Princeton, which drops to 12-15 with the loss, was led offensively by Jack Murphy, who had four hits.
Monmouth returns to action tomorrow when the Hawks host Lafayette at 3:30 p.m. Sophomore left-hander Kyle Breese is set to start for the Blue and White.
