DALLAS, Texas. – The Monmouth University baseball team dropped its 2015 season opener at Dallas Baptist on Friday night, 15-1. The Patriots posted five runs in the fifth and seven in the sixth after the game stood at 1-0 at the conclusion of the top of the fifth.
Joseph Shaw tossed six innings for DBU, allowing no runs, two hits and three walks while striking out six to earn the win. Trevor Conn pitched two innings and allowed three hits and a run before Seth Elledge threw a scoreless ninth. Chris McKenna (Pine Beach, N.J./Toms River South) started for MU, suffering the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings. McKenna struck out the side in the first and retired the side in order during two of the first three innings. Jesse Fante (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) threw a scoreless eighth, walking one and erasing him on a double play.
Monmouth got hits from six different contributors, including designated hitter Adam Yunginger's (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) first career hit. Dan Shea (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum) added a hit and a walk. Camden Duzenack went 2-for-4 with four RBI's for Dallas Baptist, and was joined by Justin Wall who had three hits and Daniel Salters, who knocked in three runs.
Both starters struck out the side in the first before the home team got on the board via a David Martinelli solo home run to center field. Duzenack and Salters both notched two-run doubles in a five-run fifth for the Patriots, and a Martinelli RBI ground out finished off the scoring in the frame.
In the sixth, Duzenack added another two-run single and Salters drove in another run with a base hit to center. Tagg Duce had the only other run-scoring hit of the inning, as the Patriots totaled seven runs on four hits to take a 13-0 lead.
Monmouth got on the board in the seventh, when Shaine Hughes (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) roped a single to right and moved to second on a wild pitch. After advancing to third on a groundout, Kyle Perry (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) reached on an error by the shortstop that allowed Hughes to score.
Dallas Baptist added a pair in the bottom of the frame to make the score 15-1, which would be the final. The Hawks got hits in the final two frames from Dave Moreno (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional), Cary Jacobson (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades), and Robbie Alessandrine (Sewell, N.J./Gloucester Catholic), but couldn't push anything across.
The teams are back in action tomorrow afternoon at Horner Ballpark, with first pitch slated for 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
