WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? The Monmouth University baseball team tied a program record by winning its 13th straight game, with a 5-1 victory over Lafayette on Wednesday afternoon. The Hawks improve to 15-8 overall, while the Leopards fall to 16-11.
In the bottom of the first, Monmouth went ahead 1-0 without registering a hit, manufacturing a run on three Lafayette errors. Ryan Terry drew a one-out walk, and on his steal attempt of second, a throwing error by the catcher allowed Terry to reach third. The following at-bat saw Paul Bottigliero reach on a fielding error by the second baseman, allowing Terry to cross, giving the Hawks the early advantage.
Lafayette's third inning saw the Leopards put runners on the corners after two singles, before Monmouth starter Kyle Breese induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat.
In the fifth frame, Monmouth loaded the bases with two outs, but Lafayette starter Ryan Hanna got Terry to fly out to centerfield to maintain the one-run edge.
The Leopards knotted the score in the sixth inning, as a Nick Tucker lead off single started the frame. After Tucker moved up to third on consecutive groundouts, Chris Luick reached on a throwing error, allowing the tying score to cross.
Monmouth retook the lead in the home half of the sixth inning, when Andy Meyers reached on a fielding error to start the rally. After a Bottigliero hit-by-pitch, a wild pitch from reliever Tyler Chromey put two runners in scoring position. Back-to-back sacrifice flys from Nick Pulsonetti and Shawn Teters put the Hawks ahead 3-1. After Chris Collazo was hit, Monmouth went up 4-1 when Brett Holland laced a shot at the first baseman, which got through to rightfield, allowing Collazo to score.
Kyle Higgins led off the seventh for the Hawks with a double to leftfield on a 3-2 count, and came around on Meyers' RBI single, putting Monmouth ahead 5-1.
Breese (3-1) worked six innings, allowing one unearned run on five hits, to earn the victory for the Hawks. Breese, who walked none, tied a career-high with six strikeouts.
Tim Dexter, Tim Ballard and Justin Esposito combined to pitch three scoreless frames for the Hawks out of the pen, to maintain the 5-1 victory. Ballard, who allowed two hits, improved his scoreless inning streak to 12 innings over five appearances. With two runners on in the ninth, Esposito struck out Tom Hayes to end the game, earning his team-leading fifth save. Monmouth as team recorded nine strikeouts and no walks.
Hanna, who did not allow a hit to the Hawks until the fifth inning, a single to Collazo, worked five innings, allowing one run on two hits. Chromey (1-1) was saddled with the loss for the Leopards, as the righty allowed three unearned runs, on one hit, in two-thirds of an inning.
Monmouth returns to action this weekend, when the Hawks take on Wagner in a four-game Northeast Conference series. Friday's game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark is set to start at 3 p.m.
