FAIRFIELD, CT – Second seeded Monmouth University Baseball (24-11, 22-10 MAAC) is set to play in the 2021 MAAC Baseball Championships, beginning on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. against #3 Rider University. The four-team, double elimination tournament will take place at Alumni Baseball Diamond on the campus of Fairfield University.
 
2021 MAAC Baseball Tournament
May 26-29, 2021
Alumni Baseball Diamond, Fairfield, CT
Four-Team Double Elimination Tournament
 
TOURNAMENT SEEDS
1 – Fairfield (35-1, 33-1 MAAC)
2 – Monmouth (24-11, 22-10 MAAC)
3 – Rider (20-16, 18-16 MAAC)
4 – Canisius (19-14, 17-13 MAAC)


2021 HAWKS AGAINST THE TOURNAMENT FIELD


#1 Fairfield (Fairfield won four of four)
-Two of the games were decided by just one run, with a third seeing Monmouth bring the leading run to the plate in the ninth. Ryan Steckline threw three scoreless innings in the series, while Dan Klepchick didn't allow an earned run in his six innings.
 
#3 Rider (Teams split four games)
-In Monmouth's lone midweek games of the season, the Hawks and Broncs split two doubleheaders. One of MU's losses came by a 1-0 count, and only one weekend starter (Alex Barker) pitched against Rider in the four games. Brady Mutz hit .750 (6-for-8) this season, while Harry Padden hit .313. Barker tossed 12 innings in the two games, fanning nine and allowing just two total runs.
 
#4 Canisius (Monmouth won three of four)
-MU won three of four against the Griffs in West Long Branch to close out the regular season, winning the first three of the series. The second game saw a wild comeback, featuring Robbie Holmes hitting a three-run homer with two down in the ninth to tie the game. After a Canisius grand slam in the 10^th, the Hawks scored five times in the bottom half to win it. Dixon Black hit .571 on the weekend, going 8-for-14, while Jalen Jenkins was at .462.
 
FACTS ON OUR MAJOR AWARDS
-Monmouth collected two major awards, with Rob Hensey earning MAAC Pitcher of the Year and Dixon Black being named MAAC Rookie of the Year.
 
Hensey
-Seventh conference Pitcher of the Year in program history
-Second since joining the MAAC (Ricky Dennis, 2016)
-Current Cincinnati Red and 11^th year major leaguer Brad Brach is a previous MU Pitcher of the Year, doing so in 2007 in the NEC
 
Black
-10^th conference Rookie of the Year in school history
-Second since joining the MAAC (Dan Klepchick, 2018)
-All-time hits leader Ryan Terry was NEC Rookie of the Year in 2008
 
NOTES ON ALL-MAAC HONORS
-Monmouth had six named to All-MAAC teams, including four on the first team (Hensey, Black, Dan Klepchick, Alex Barker), one on the MAAC's Second Team (Jalen Jenkins) and one on the All-Rookie Team (Black).
-MU was second to just Fairfield with four First Teamers.
-Four players on the First Team is the most for MU since 2016 (Shaine Hughes, Dan Shea, Grant Lamberton, Ricky Dennis).
-Black is the first freshman since Andrew McGee (2011, NEC) to earn First Team honors, and the fourth in program history.
 
ALL-ACADEMIC
-MU had 20 players named to the MAAC All-Academic team, the most in school history since joining the league.
 
HOW WE GOT HERE
-After finishing second in the MAAC regular season, MU hosted #7 Siena in a three-game quarterfinal series. After splitting a pair of lopsided contests on Friday, Siena led throughout in the deciding game. Down 4-0, MU scratched across single runs in the sixth and seventh before loading the bases with no outs in the ninth. Alex Barker then launched a walk-off grand slam to send Monmouth into the MAAC Championship round.
 
HAWK NOTES
-Dean Ehehalt is 37-37 all-time in conference tournament games between the MAAC and NEC.
-Monmouth is 6-10 all-time in MAAC Tournament games.
-Monmouth went 6-1-1 in MAAC series this season.
-The Hawks won 12 in a row between March 20 and April 7.
-In a nine-game stretch between March 28 and April 7, the Hawks allowed four total runs.
-MU ranks fourth nationally in team ERA (3.01).
-Monmouth is tied with four other teams with the most shutouts in the nation with eight.
-The Hawks are seventh in the country in walks allowed per nine (2.61).
-Monmouth ranks third nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.73).
-Hensey ranks eighth in the nation in ERA (1.54).
-Trey Dombroski is eighth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.14).
-Jalen Jenkins is second in the country in triples per game (0.16) and eighth in total triples.
 
PROJECTED HAWKS
Catcher: #24 Zach Schild AND #8 Brady Mutz
First Base: #19 James Harmstead
Second Base: #35 Dixon Black OR #14 Matt Graber
Shortstop: #35 Dixon Black OR #13 Dennis Filipovski
Third Base: #9 Johnny Zega
Left Field: #4 Jalen Jenkins
Center Field: #28 Harry Padden
Right Field: #6 Jake Catalano
Designated Hitter: #47 Alex Barker
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: All games will air on ESPN+.
LIVE STATISTICS: Can be found for each game by visiting Fairfield.StatBroadcast.com
TWITTER: Updates will be provided via @MUHawksBaseball and @MonmouthHawks.
 
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