WILMINGTON, NC – Phil Stahl drove in a run and Dante Ciaramella tossed five shutout innings out of the bullpen, but Monmouth University Baseball was defeated in its first ever Colonial Athletic Association contest, 3-1 at UNC Wilmington Friday night.
 
All three runs UNCW scored came in the third, with two coming in on bases loaded walks after Alec DeMartino knocked home a run with a base hit. In the visitor sixth, Andrew Schmid walked leading off and after a fielder's choice, Eric Sabato was at second with two down for Stahl, who delivered the RBI hit to trim it to 3-1. Ciaramella allowed just one hit in five innings to keep MU in it, but the Hawks couldn't find the equalizer.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES

"Tough game tonight for us. Tip your hat to the UNCW pitcher- he really was in control tonight. We competed and played hard. Dante was outstanding with five scoreless and gave us a chance. There are still a lot of areas we can improve in and continue to get better. Our guys play hard and really care, so I'm sure we show up tomorrow." – Head Coach Dean Ehehalt
 
-This marked Monmouth Baseball's first ever CAA game.
-Phil Stahl has driven in a run in four games in a row and eight of 10 contests this season.
-Dante Ciaramella posted his third scoreless outing in four appearances this year, with all coming in three or more innings of work.
-This was the first meeting between Monmouth and UNC Wilmington since 2000.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-UNCW totaled just four hits against MU pitching.
-Wilmington starter Jacob Shafer went all nine, allowing a run on three hits to earn the win.
-Alex Barker took the loss, throwing three innings for Monmouth.

UP NEXT
-The series schedule has been modified this weekend, and the Hawks and UNC Wilmington will play a doubleheader tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Tomorrow's twinbill will conclude the series, with no game set for Sunday.