POMONA, NY – Fourth-seeded Monmouth University Baseball (24-25, 12-10 MAAC) is set to compete in the 2022 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Championships, beginning on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. against fifth-seeded Rider University. The six-team, double-elimination tournament will take place at Clover Stadium in Pomona, New York, home of the New York Boulders of the Frontier League.
 
2022 MAAC Baseball Championships
May 25-28, 20-22
Clover Stadium, Pomona, NY
Six-Team Double Elimination Tournament
 
TOURNAMENT SEEDS
1 – Fairfield Stags (31-19, 18-5 MAAC)
2 – Marist Red Foxes (29-14, 17-5 MAAC)
3 – Canisius Golden Griffins (25-23, 15-9 MAAC)
4 – Monmouth Hawks (24-25, 12-10 MAAC)
5 – Rider Broncs (25-24, 12-10 MAAC)
6 – Niagara Purple Eagles (19-30, 13-11 MAAC)
 
Monmouth 1B Coach – Volunteer Assistant Coach Jack Ipsen
Monmouth 3B Coach – Assistant Coach Chris Collazo
Monmouth Mound Visits – Assistant Coach Sean Thompson
 
2022 HAWKS AGAINST THE TOURNAMENT FIELD

#1 Fairfield (Teams split two games)
-With rain all weekend, the teams were forced into playing just twice in a doubleheader. Monmouth led the first game throughout before a three-run home run tied it for Fairfield in the bottom of the ninth before the Stags won in 10. MU responded quickly, using Dixon Black's ninth-inning home run to earn the split after Rob Hensey and Dan Klepchick combined to not allow an earned run.
-Dixon Black hit .556 (5-9) with a homer against the Stags, while MU starting pitching allowed two runs in 14 innings.
 
#2 Marist (Red Foxes won three times)
-Trey Dombroski was dominant against Marist, allowing two hits and no runs in seven innings with nine K's. Marist got to the MU bullpen Friday to steal a late win before winning the next two to complete the sweep.
-Aside from Dombroski's dominance, Alex Barker also threw 4.1 shutout innings against the Red Foxes. Offensively, the Hawks were led on the weekend by Nick Campana, who hit .667 (4-6).
 
#3 Canisius (Golden Griffins won two of three)
-In the regular season weekend finale played on a Wednesday-Friday, Monmouth won the opener behind eight dominant innings from Rob Hensey, who struck out 11 and allowed just one run. James Harmstead broke the program's single-season home run record in the game. Canisius took the next two, including the final game in which MU loaded the bases in the ninth before coming up just short, 5-3.
-Joey Ventresca led MU statistically on the weekend, hitting .475 (5-12) while Harmstead hit .400 and Catalano homered twice. Ryan Bearse, Reed Interdonato and Mason Miller all turned in scoreless outings against the Griffs.
 
#5 Rider (Monmouth won two of three)
-Monmouth took a big two-of three from Rider at home to close out the home league slate at the end of April. MU captured the opener after six strong from Dombroski and three shutout from the bullpen in Stephen Aldrich to earn a save. In the middle game, down two entering the ninth, Monmouth put the first two on and threatened throughout, leaving the tying run at third in a 6-5 defeat. The Sunday rubber game was a wild one, with Ryan Bearse providing a lift with 4.1 shutout innings out of the bullpen. In the final inning with two down and a runner at second, a 3-2 pitch hit the umpire and ran towards the Rider dugout. The runner attempted to score from second to tie the game, but Brady Mutz' throw to Bearse covering was just in time to retire the runner as the final out of the game.
 
#6 Niagara (Monmouth won three of three)
-Monmouth swept its second straight MAAC series to open league play against Niagara. A dominant outing from Trey Dombroski in the opener resulted in an 8-0 win, and Jay Bant's seventh-inning two-run homer gave MU the lead in the second game. Rob Hensey did not allow an earned run in seven innings in the finale as the Hawks swept the weekend.
-MU was led offensively against NU by Dixon Black who hit .357 (5-14) with five runs driven in and two doubles. MU allowed only four total runs in the three games, with Dombroski, Hensey, Aldrich and Barker turning in scoreless outings.
 
ON THE BALLPARK
Clover Stadium is the home of the New York Boulders, a member of the Frontier League. The natural grass surface is 403 feet to dead center with a high wall, and boasts a short right field porch that measures 312 feet. This is the first ever MAAC Tournament at Clover Stadium.
 
ALL-MAAC NOTES
-Trey Dombroski is the second straight Hawk to earn MAAC Pitcher of the Year
-Dombroski is the eighth Pitcher of the Year in school history and first unanimous selection (Joe Aragona – 1996, Jim Carone – 2002, Brad Brach – 2007, Nick Meyers – 2011, Andrew McGee – 2013, Ricky Dennis – 2016, Rob Hensey – 2021)
-Dombroski is the 12^th All-MAAC First Teamer in school history and the third unanimous (Grant Lamberton, Shaine Hughes – 2016)
-Alex Barker earns his second straight All-MAAC nod at the utility spot
-Jay Bant and Reed Interdonato are the second and third players in school history to earn MAAC All-Rookie honors since the league added the team. They join teammate Dixon Black (2021).
 
RECORD SETTERS
-Trey Dombroski set the program record for single-season strikeout with 110, passing former Red Sox first-round pick Pat Light (2012).
-Monmouth's pitching staff shattered the single-season strikeout record, with 430 K's to breaj the prior mark of 386 in 2018.
-James Harmstead broke the single-season program record for home runs with 18, topping Paul Bottigliero (2009).
-Monmouth's 55 home runs are the most in the BBCOR bat era, instituted in 2011 by the NCAA.
 
ALL-ACADEMIC
-Monmouth had 20 players named to the MAAC All-Academic team, tied with 2021 for the most in program history.
 
FIRST FULL MAAC TOURNEY SINCE 2019
-Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 tournament was canceled and the 2021 edition was four teams instead of the usual six. Five Hawks saw action in the 2019 tournament and are still on the roster this week (Colin McCreary, Rob Hensey, Mason Miller, Dan Klepchick, Michael Dimino).
 
TOURNAMENT CONSISTENCY
With Monmouth exiting the MAAC after this season, MU will leave having qualified for seven of eight MAAC Tournaments, excluding the canceled 2020.