WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University baseball team fell to Seton Hall University, 15-3, in non-conference action, Tuesday afternoon at MU Baseball Field. The Pirates, who scored in eight out of the nine innings, improve to 22-18, while the Hawks fall to 26-16 with the defeat.
Will Walsh doubled on a 0-2 pitch inside the first base bag and Mike Genovese walked to start off the game. Two batters later, Salvatore Annunziata successfully completed a hit and run, singling through the left side, scoring Walsh, who had the early jump, giving Seton Hall a 1-0 lead.
Ed Martin (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan [Brookdale CC]) hustled out a double and advanced to third on Jake Gronsky's (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) fly ball to center. Danny Avella (Matawan, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) followed with a RBI single, knotting the score at 1-1.
For the second consecutive inning, Monmouth started the frame with a leadoff double, this time off the bat of Chris Perret (Morris Plains, N.J./Morris Catholic). The senior advanced to third on Owen Stewart's (Howell, N.J./St. Rose) groundout and came around to score on an infield single by Jon Guida (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater Raritan), giving the Hawks their first lead of the game, 2-1.
Kyle Grimm's RBI groundout in the top of the second evened the score at 2-2. An inning later, a failed pick-off attempt from starter Jonathan Shippee (Waterford, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and an error by Guida led to the Pirates 3-2 lead. SHU tacked on a run in the fifth on Scott Kalamar's RBI single through the right side to go ahead 4-2.
Seton Hall plated two more tallies in the sixth on a two-run single by Ryan Sullivan and Giuseppe Papaccio and Annunziata each drove in runs in the seventh. Papaccio later crossed home plate on a wild pitch and Kalamar blasted a grand slam to give the Pirates a comfortable 13-2 lead. Kalamar chipped in another RBI base hit in the eighth and Papaccio drove in a run in the ninth to account for the Pirates' final two runs.
Dave Moreno (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) registered his first collegiate hit in the ninth and came around to score three batters later on freshman classmate Steve Wilgus' (Woolwich, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) single to left field to give the Blue and White its third run.
Shippee suffers his second loss of the season, lasting four innings on the hill, yielding three runs, one which was earned, on six hits with three strikeouts. T.J. Hunt (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo) worked the most out of the six Hawks who entered from the bullpen. The rookie worked 1.2 innings, yielding three runs on four hits with a pair of punch-outs. Stephen Frey (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville), Stephen Prosapio (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet), Chris McKenna (Pine Beach, N.J./Toms River South), Jeff Paglione (Mantua, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) and Tyler Brown (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge [Felician/Brookdale CC]) combined to work the final 3.1 innings of the game.
Monmouth will conclude its seven-game homestand tomorrow as Saint Peter's travels to West Long Branch for a 3:30 p.m. non-league clash.
