Baseball February 19, 2016 Monmouth Sports Information

BASEBALL OPENS SEASON WITH 3-1 WIN OVER PENN STATE

CARY, NC – Frank Trimarco (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun) tossed six scoreless innings and Shaine Hughes (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) collected two hits as the Monmouth baseball team topped Big Ten-member Penn State in the 2016 season opener on Friday afternoon in Cary, NC. The Hawks move to 1-0 while the Nittany Lions drop to 0-1.

“I am really proud of the way we played today,” said head coach Dean Ehehalt. “Frank Trimarco was outstanding-he pitched out of a jam or two and really set the tone. Ben Hoffman got five huge outs to close it down.”

After two scoreless innings, Monmouth got on the board in the third when Justin Trochiano (Morganville, NJ/Marlboro) doubled to left and moved to second on Grant Lamberton (Newark, DE/Salesianum)'s sacrifice bunt. Hughes singled to left to drive in Trochiano, and Monmouth took an early 1-0 lead.

Monmouth added another pair of runs in the fourth, beginning when Dan Shea (Wilmington, DE/Salesianum) singled and stole second leading off. A walk to Chris Gaetano (Madison Township, PA/Scranton Preparatory) and a Christian Holland (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) single through the left side loaded the bases, and MU plated runs on a pair of RBI ground outs from Ryan Bailey (Mount Kisco, NY/Fox Lane) and Trochiano to push the lead to 3-0.

Penn State got a run back in the bottom of the fourth, sparked by Nick Riotto's leadoff single. After a fielder's choice and a ground out, Conlin Hughes drove in the lone PSU run on a single to center to cut it to 3-1.

Trimarco allowed two baserunners in the fifth and one in the sixth but pitched through it, striking out a pair in the sixth in what would be his final inning. Freshman Kyle Ajjan (Chester Springs, PA/Downingtown East) relieved Trimarco for the seventh and worked a perfect frame in his first collegiate inning. The Hawks put runners on second and third in the eighth with one away, but could not score.

Penn State threatened in the eighth, with Jim Haley and Riotto opening the inning with singles. Ajjan got Christian Helsel to strike out but walked Tyler Kendall and was replaced by Ben Hoffman (Berlin, NJ/Voorhees [Gloucester County College]), who would make his Monmouth debut. Hoffman got Hughes and pinch-hitter James Coates to both foul out to first to escape the jam.

In the ninth, Hoffman hit the first man he faced but retired the next three in order to record his first save and secure the opening day win for Monmouth. The Blue and White are now 2-1 all-time against Penn State, and open the season with a victory for the first time since 2014 at FAU.

Hughes led Monmouth with two hits and an RBI, while Shea was on base three times with a hit and two walks. Trochiano doubled and scored a run in addition to driving one in. Trimarco got the win and threw six innings, allowing a run on five hits, walking three and fanning five. Ajjan tossed 1.1 scoreless, and Hoffman added 1.2 shutout innings to lock down the win and pick up the save.

Haley, Riotto and Hughes combined for six of Penn State's seven hits on the day, adding two apiece. Taylor Lehman suffered the loss, throwing six innings and surrendering three earned on five hits, striking out five. Dakota Forsyth contributed three one-hit innings out of the bullpen for the Nittany Lions.

“We played with a bunch of energy and earned a hard fought team win,” added Ehehalt.

Monmouth is back in action tomorrow at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, NC for a doubleheader with Bryant. First pitch is slated for 12:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#42 Kyle Ajjan: P; 6' 0"; Freshman

#21 Ryan Bailey: C/INF; 6' 1"; Junior

#22 Chris Gaetano: OF; 6' 2"; Junior

#27 Ben Hoffman: P; 6' 1"; Junior

#35 Christian Holland: OF; 5' 11"; Senior

#37 Shaine Hughes: IF; 6' 0"; Junior

#24 Grant Lamberton: IF; 6' 2"; Junior

#25 Dan Shea: OF; 6' 2"; Senior

#32 Frank Trimarco: LHP; 6' 1"; Senior

#16 Justin Trochiano: IF; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#42 Kyle Ajjan
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: P

#21 Ryan Bailey
: 6' 1"; Junior
: C/INF

#22 Chris Gaetano
: 6' 2"; Junior
: OF

#27 Ben Hoffman
: 6' 1"; Junior
: P

#35 Christian Holland
: 5' 11"; Senior
: OF

#37 Shaine Hughes
: 6' 0"; Junior
: IF

#24 Grant Lamberton
: 6' 2"; Junior
: IF

#25 Dan Shea
: 6' 2"; Senior
: OF

#32 Frank Trimarco
: 6' 1"; Senior
: LHP

#16 Justin Trochiano
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: IF