GREENVILLE, N.C. - Jake Gronsky (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) went 3-for-5 with a
three-run home run and a key 10th inning single as the Monmouth
University baseball team defeated East Carolina, 4-3, in extra innings Friday
afternoon on Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Monmouth University Head
Coach Dean Ehehalt has now defeated his alma mater in three-consecutive series
openers at East Carolina, also turning the trick in 2008 and 2010. With the
win, the Hawks improve to 3-5, while the Pirates fall to 7-5.
Gronsky fueled the Hawks'
offense with two singles and his first home run of the season. Chris Perret
(Morris Plains, N.J./Morris Catholic) added a 2-for-3 effort, as well as the
game-winning sacrifice fly in the 10th. Kyle Perry (Toms River,
N.J./Toms River South), Owen Stewart (Howell, N.J./St. Rose) and Dan Shea
(Wilmington, Del./Salesianum) also added one hit apiece. Andrew McGee (Toms
River, N.J./Toms River South) started the game and went seven innings, allowing
three earned runs on four hits, three walks and a hit by pitch. He struck out
three. Adam Yunginger (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) picked up the win, throwing
three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out
two.
"McGee
and Yunginger were very good tonight," said Ehehalt. "Our guys had great energy
from the first pitch. Jake gave us a lift early; our hitters did a nice job of
competing right from the first pitch. That's a tough environment to play in, as
it is a great college baseball atmosphere."
Five different Pirates
finished with one hit each, led by Chase McDonald's home run to lead off the
sixth and tie the game at 3-3. Jack Reinheimer added an RBI bunt single, while
Zach Houchins chipped in with a single and a run scored. Drew Reynolds and Nick
Thompson also contributed one hit each. Jeff Hoffman, ranked by Baseball
America as the top prospect in Conference USA for the 2013 Major League
Baseball First Year Player Draft, started the game and went eight strong
innings. Paired with a win over Colonial Athletic Association top prospect Chad
Kuhl of Delaware last weekend, the Hawks have now won a pair of games in which
top pitching prospects have thrown against them on consecutive Fridays. He allowed
three earned runs on the Gronsky blast, scattering six hits and two walks,
while striking out four. Reliever Jake Harris took the loss, allowing one
earned run on one hit and one walk over 1.1 innings pitched. Harris struck out
one.
The Hawks jumped out in front
in the third inning, when Gronsky drilled a three-run home run over the left
field wall. The drive plated Shea and Perry, who'd reached on an infield single
and a hit-by-pitch, respectively. ECU countered with two runs in the bottom of
the third. After McGee had retired the first seven Pirates and eight of the
first nine ECU batters, a passed ball, hit-by-pitch, two-out RBI bunt single, a
walk and a wild pitch allowed East Carolina to close the deficit to 3-2. The
one-run lead stood until the bottom of the sixth, when McDonald led off the
frame with a home run to left to tie the game at 3-3.
In the top of the 10th,
Steve Wilgus (Woolwich, N.J./Gloucester Catholic) led off with a walk before
moving to second on Perry's sacrifice bunt. Gronsky's single to left put
runners on the corners with one out, before Perret's flyout to left was deep enough
to score Wilgus from third and give the Hawks the 4-3 lead. Yunginger got a
groundout and a strikeout for the first two outs of the 10th, before
surrendering a single to Reynolds. But Yunginger followed by inducing a lazy
McDonald flyout to right to end the game.
The Hawks continue their
three-game series at East Carolina Saturday. First pitch from Lewis Field at
Clark-LeClair Stadium is scheduled for 2 p.m.
