NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Monmouth University baseball team scored five seventh inning runs to grab the second game from Iona, 8-5 Saturday after dropping the opener 12-3. The Hawks are now 9-15 while Iona is 10-22.
“We showed a great deal of poise battling back today,” said Head Coach Dean Ehehalt.
Overall in the first game, Chris McKenna (Pine Beach, N.J./Toms River South) suffered the loss for MU with Bill Maier earning the win for Iona on 8.2 innings and three runs on eight hits. Adam Yunginger (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) tossed four shutout relief innings for Monmouth. Matt Byrne had three hits for Iona, while Vinny DeMaria went four-for-five with four RBI's. Sean Arnott (Brielle, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy/Temple) went two-for-two off the bench for the Hawks.
In the second game, Justin Andrews (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) earned his first career win, while John Daddino got the loss for Iona. Mike Brambilla (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) picked up his first career save with a scoreless seventh. Offensively, Kyle Perry (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) was two-for-four with three RBI's, while Byrne added two more hits for the Gaels.
Monmouth scored five runs in the seventh to take the second game in comeback fashion from Iona, starting when both Shaine Hughes (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) and Steve Wilgus (Woolwich, N.J/Gloucester Catholic) worked long at bats to draw one-out walks. Pinch hitting, Cary Jacobson (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades) punched a single into left center to fill the bases. Perry came up with the bases loaded and took a 2-1 pitch to center field for a two-run single, tying the game. The next batter, Chris Gaetano (Madison Township, Pa./Scranton Preparatory), singled to right to score the lead run and put the Hawks up, 6-5. After Daddino exited the game, freshman Justin Trochiano (Morganville, N.J./Marlboro) sent a two-run double to left to give MU two insurance runs and take an 8-5 lead.
The second game started when Iona put up a run in the first on a Travis Mistretta triple and added two more in the third on a Seth Hoagland two-run single. The Hawks struck back for a pair in the fourth, sparked by Grant Lamberton (Newark, Del./Salesianum) leading off with a single through the left side. Hughes drove him in with a double to left, and Perry brought Hughes around on a ground rule double to bring the deficit to 3-2.
DeMaria gave Iona a three-run edge back with a two-run single down the right field line in the fifth, and Monmouth trimmed the lead back to two with a run in the sixth, created on Dan Shea ()'s walk with the bases loaded. Monmouth came back with five in the seventh and Andrews shut the door in the bottom of the inning to give MU a 8-5 come-from-behind victory.
Iona got on the board immediately with three first inning runs in the first game, getting an RBI single from both Alex Beckett and DeMaria as well as a run scored on an error. The Gaels also crossed three runs in the third, with Kyle DiVico delivering the big hit, a two-RBI base hit.
After scoring two in the fourth, Iona plated four in the eighth on the power of a Byrne RBI triple, a Jimmy Guiliani RBI single and a two-run double by DeMaria to make it 12-0 Gaels. MU got on the board in the ninth, scoring three. Lamberton and Dave Moreno (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) both notched run-scoring singles, and Arnott drove home a run with a double to make it 12-3 Iona, which would be the final.
The teams will meet in a rubber game tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in New Rochelle, N.Y.
