TEANECK, N.J. ? Behind a pair of solid pitching performances from juniors Ryan Buch and Brett Brach, the Monmouth University baseball team posted a doubleheader sweep at Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday afternoon. With the sweep, Monmouth improves to 6-2 in the Northeast Conference and 17-14 overall.
In game one, Monmouth's eight-run sixth inning broke a 3-3 tie, while Buch picked up his fourth win of the season behind 11 strikeouts, en route to the Hawks' 11-3 victory. Brach (4-0) earned the win for the Hawks in game two, tossing 8.0 shutout innings, with seven strikeouts.
FDU pushed across a run in the bottom of the first, for a 1-0 lead, when Matt Maher delivered an RBI double off Buch.
The Hawks loaded the bases in the top of the second, and knotted the score when Brett Holland worked a walk, driving in Chris Collazo, who lead off the frame with a single. Monmouth went ahead 3-1 when Ryan Terry followed with a two-run single through the left side.
Back-to-back doubles to start the home half of the third pulled the Knights within 3-2, and a fielder's choice groundout, coupled with an error, tied the score at 3-3.
The Blue and White broke the game open in the sixth frame as the Hawks netted eight runs on eight hits. Paul Bottigliero led off the inning with a home run to center, putting Monmouth in front 4-3, which was followed by doubles from Bobby Dombrowski and Holland. Nick Pulsonetti's single, Collazo's bases loaded double, Bottigliero's two-run single and a run-scoring single from Mike Casale inflated the Hawks' cushion to 11-3.
Buch (4-2) picked up his 19th career victory behind six innings, with a season-high 11 strikeouts. Sophomore Nick McNamara worked a scoreless seventh for the Hawks with one punchout.
In the opening contest, Pulsonetti, Collazo, Bottigliero and Dombrowski all collected two hits, while Bottigliero (3 RBI), Holland, Terry and Collazo each had multi-RBI outings.
Monmouth wasted no time scoring in game two, as the Hawks posted two runs in the first inning. Pulsonetti delivered an RBI double to plate Terry for a 1-0 edge, and later scored on a fielding error, for a 2-0 lead.
The Hawks tacked on single runs in the second, third and fourth innings, to take a 5-0 advantage. In the second, Josh Boyd registered a run on a steal of home, while David Jacob's sac fly and a Boyd RBI single accounted for the five-run edge.
Monmouth pushed the lead to 6-0 in the sixth, when Holland's triple to center plated Boyd, and then to 8-0 in the eighth when Holland homered, a two-run shot to center.
Kyle Breese worked a scoreless ninth for Monmouth, preserving the win.
Holland, who collected five RBI in the doubleheader, went 3-for-4 with three RBI in game two in the leadoff spot.
Monmouth returns to action on Wednesday, April 15, when the Hawks host in-state rival Saint Peter's, in non-conference action, at 3:30 p.m.
