WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ –  Monmouth University Baseball (21-9, 21-9 MAAC) came back twice in the final two innings to win a wild final game, 12-11 over Canisius College (16-12, 16-12 MAAC) Saturday after taking the opener in the series by an 8-5 count. Jalen Jenkins provided the walk-off hit in Game Two after Robbie Holmes two-out, two-strike three-run homer in the ninth kept things going. The Hawks secured the second seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament with today's results.
 
Canisius jumped to a 5-0 lead in Game Two before MU clawed back with two sac flies ahead of Alex Barker's seventh home run of the season to trim it to 5-3. Vinny Chiarenza homered to give the Griffs a 7-3 edge again, but the Hawks were far from done. Jake Catalano's RBI single in the seventh made it 7-4, setting up Robbie Holmes for some ninth-inning heroics. Holmes hammered a 3-2 offering over the center field wall, a three-run blast to tie the game at seven. Chiarenza responded for the Griffs in the 10^th, tucking a grand slam inside the right field foul pole to give the visitors an 11-7 lead. Again, MU did not give in, with Johnny Zega leading off with a single and coming in to score on a Barker base hit to cut it to 11-8. With two away, Joey Ventresca and Brady Mutz both found their way on base, and Catalano was hit by a pitch to make it 11-9. Matt Graber singled to left to score a pair, tying the game ahead of Jenkins' hit inside the first base bag, capping the five-run 10^th and comeback victory for Monmouth, 12-11.
 
In the opener, Monmouth worked to score four times in the second, doing so via three hits and an error to stake Dan Klepchick to the lead. The advantage stretched to 8-1 in the fourth, with Johnny Zega providing the big knock with a two-run double down the left field line. The Griffs battled back with four runs in the later innings, but Regan Dombroski held it down to secure the win, 8-5.

NOTES AND QUOTES

"That was a great day for our guys.  Two total team wins.  Couldn't be happy for everybody; there were so many contributors. In Game One, we were able to manufacture some runs early and Klepchick gave us another quality start. Game Two was a wild one for sure; but that's college baseball. It has been a while since we have been in one of those games. It's a testament of grit and hard work to our guys how they hung in there and battled back to win that game. Fighting back from a five-run deficit, a bunch of good at-bats, and down to our last strike in the ninth. So happy for Robbie, he was due and he delivered. Danny Long's work out of the bullpen in the middle of the game allowed us to settle in and kept us within striking distance. Solid at bats late in the game, contributions from so many guys and you always have a chance. Tomorrow will be a great day as we honor all of our seniors!  Every senior that played today contributed in some manner and it was very fitting that Evan Ferris was the winning pitcher in Game Two. It was also really fitting to see Jalen get the walk-off hit. He was so excited to play in front of his mother who came up from North Carolina for senior weekend." – Head Coach Dean Ehehalt


-With the first win, MU reached 20 wins, securing the second seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament.
-Dan Klepchick earned his team-leading fourth win of the year.
-The walk-off win was Monmouth's first walk-off since March 26, 2019 when Clay Koniencki hit a game-winning single to beat Hofstra.
-Jalen Jenkins hit his team-leading fifth triple.
-Alex Barker extended his team lead with his seventh home run.
-Evan Ferris picked up his second career win, and first since April 10, 2019 at Penn.
-Robbie Holmes hit his first home run of the season, and second of his career.
-MU swept a doubleheader for the eighth time this season.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-MU outhit Canisius 12-7 in the opener.
-Klepchick earned the win behind five strong innings, allowing a run on two hits with six K's.
-Each team registered 14 hits in the nightcap.
-Evan Ferris got the final out of the 10^th to earn the win.
-Cory Hiltz tossed 2.1 one-hit shutout innings out of the pen.

UP NEXT
-The Hawks and Griffs wrap up the regular season tomorrow at noon with a doubleheader, with the Hawk seniors set to be honored pregame. The games will air on ESPN3.