WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Monmouth baseball scored 10 runs in the fourth inning and beat Siena 10-4 in the opener before falling to the Saints in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader, 6-2. MU is now 18-16 overall and 8-3 in conference, while Siena is 11-21 and 6-5 in the league.
Monmouth put up 10 runs on nine hits in the fourth inning to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 10-1 lead. Ryan Bailey (Mount Kisco, NY/Fox Lane) started the rally with a single to right that eluded right fielder Fred Smart, allowing Bailey to go to third. Robbie Alessandrine (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) lined a single back through the box to tie the game, and Justin Trochiano (Morganville, NJ/Marlboro) tucked a double down the line before Grant Lamberton (Newark, DE/Salesianum) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Shaine Hughes (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) hit a sacrifice fly to center to score a run and move everyone up a base, and Dan Shea (Wilmington, DE/Salesianum) dropped a single to right to plate two more. Cary Jacobson (Los Angeles, CA/Palisades) laid down a perfect bunt down third for a base hit, and Chris Gaetano (Madison Township, PA/Scranton Preparatory) slashed a double the other way to score Shea. Bailey came up again and lined a two-run single, and Alessandrine followed with a double to the wall in left to plate two more. The final run scored on an error at second base, capping the ten-run frame.
The Saints got on the board in the top of the fourth on Fred Smart's RBI single. The visitors tacked on three in the seventh on a Phil Madonna RBI single and a Jordan Bishop run-scoring hit.
Frank Trimarco (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun) got the win after allowing four runs on seven hits through seven, fanning seven. Kyle Ajjan (Chester Springs, PA/Downingtown East) allowed one hit and struck out three in two scoreless relief innings. Six Hawks had multiple hits, and Alessandrine led the way with three hits, three runs batted in and two runs scored.
Tommy Miller took the loss for Siena, allowing all 10 runs. Two Saints had multi-hit games.
Siena jumped out to an immediate 3-0 lead in the second game, with Dan Swain lining a leadoff homer down the line and two batter later, Joe Drpich launching a two-run home run to right to stake the visitors to a 3-0 lead.
MU battled back for a run in the bottom of the frame, scoring when Hughes singled and went to third on an errant pickoff attempt. He came down the line to score when Jacobson grounded a double inside the chalk, making it 3-1. The Blue and White got it within 3-2 on Hughes' double off the wall followed by Shea's line-drive single to make it a one-run game.
The Saints added two in the sixth on Drpich's two-run single to right, and plated one in the seventh on a Madonna RBI triple to make it 6-2, the eventual final score.
Ricky Dennis (Warrington, PA/Central Bucks South) took the loss while Kyano Cummings earned the win with a complete game, striking out 11. Drpich had four RBI's for Siena, while Hughes added three Monmouth hits.
The teams play a rubber game tomorrow at noon at the MU Baseball Field.
