CARY, NC – Monmouth University's baseball team (1-2) dropped a doubleheader on Saturday to Bryant (3-0), falling in the first game 8-5 before dropping the nightcap 8-4 in 17 innings. Freshmen pitchers Jordan McCrum (Dallas, PA/Dallas Senior) and Joe Molettiere (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) made their collegiate debuts in Game Two, combining to throw eight shutout innings with six strikeouts and just two hits. 17 innings is Monmouth's longest game since March 9, 2008 at UCF, a 16-inning affair.
In Game Two, Monmouth and Bryant held each other off the scoreboard for nine innings between the eighth and 16th before the Bulldogs broke through for four in the 17th. Brandon Bingel and AJ Zarozny both singled, and after an intentional walk to Dan Cellucci, Mickey Gasper sent a three-run double to right center to put the Bulldogs in front. Bryant would add a run later to take an 8-4 lead, and Oliver Powers finished his relief outing by closing out the Hawks in the bottom of the inning.
Neither team scored from the eighth until Bryant broke through in the 17th. A pair of freshmen for the Hawks, McCrum and Molettiere, combined to keep the Bulldogs off the board for the majority of that, allowing just four baserunners between them.
Monmouth took a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning, getting an RBI double from Shaine Hughes (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) after Grant Lamberton (Newark, DE/Salesianum) walked and Robbie Alessandrine (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) singled. Dan Shea (Wilmington, DE/Salesianum) followed Hughes with a two-run single to put the Hawks in front.
The Bulldogs responded with single runs in both the sixth and seventh to tie the game. Buck McCarthy had the run-scoring base hit in the sixth, and Bingel's RBI ground out in the seventh tied it.
Trailing 2-0 in the fourth, Pete Papcun (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) sent a double down the left field line to score Shea, who had led the inning off with a walk. Bryant posted runs in the second and third on a Joe Paparelli double and an unearned run in the third.
Alessandrine, Hughes and Chris Gaetano (Madison Township, PA/Scranton Preparatory) all had two hits apiece for MU, while Monmouth's three freshmen relievers combined for 10 innings and allowed a run on four hits, including two innings from James Kelly (Oceanport, NJ/Shore Regional). Ricky Dennis (Warrington, PA/Central Bucks South) made the start, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits through six. Ben Hoffman (Berlin, NJ/Voorhees) took the loss for the Hawks.
Three Bulldogs had two hits, and nine pitchers threw for the Bulldogs. Powers earned the win with 2.1 scoreless relief innings, while Steve Theetge originally started and allowed four runs in 4.1 frames.
In the first game, MU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on RBI singles from Shea and Cary Jacobson (Los Angeles, CA/Palisades). Bryant got three back in the bottom of the inning, all unearned, on two Monmouth errors to lead 3-2.
Lamberton put the Hawks right back in front in the top of the second with a two-run single, and MU held that 4-3 lead into the fourth when Lamberton drove in another run with a base hit to extend Monmouth's lead to 5-3.
Bryant took a 6-5 lead in the fifth, getting run-scoring hits from Zarozny and Robby Rinn. The Bulldogs plated two more in the seventh to go up 8-5, the eventual final score.
Lamberton went 4-for-5 with three RBI's, and Christian Holland (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) had two hits. Anthony Ciavarella (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) started and worked four innings, and Tyler Ksiazek (South Abington Township, PA/Abington Heights) took the loss for Monmouth. Jesse Fante (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) delivered 1.2 shutout innings.
Garrison Banas got the win for Bryant throwing 3.2 shutout relief innings. Starter James Davitt allowed all five runs in 3.2 innings.
The Hawks are back in action at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow in Cary, NC to take on Army West Point.
