FINAL SCORE
Game One
Monmouth 13 (5-12, 1-0 CAA)
Towson 3 (4-17, 0-1 CAA)
 
Game Two
Monmouth 9 (6-12, 2-0 CAA)
Towson 7 (4-18, 0-2 CAA)

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Phil Stahl and Austin Denlinger combined for seven RBIs in game-one and added five more RBIs in game two to lead the Monmouth University baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Towson University to open Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play.
 
Drew Helmstetter threw seven strong innings in game-one and was backed by a season-high 13 runs from the offense in a 13-3 victory. The Hawks rallied from a 7-5 deficit in game-two for a 9-7 win as Derek Benzinger tossed the final two innings to lock down the win.
 
Game One Recap: The Hawks got on the board quickly in this one as three of the first five batters in the bottom of the first ripped doubles. Monmouth led 3-0 after one inning of action.
 
Towson got one run back in the top of the third before the Hawks put three more runs on the board in the bottom half of the frame. The big blow came off the bat of Stahl as he hit his first home run of the year, a shot to left. 
 
Leading 6-2 going to the bottom of the fourth, the Hawks put up a big inning. Monmouth sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs. Eric Sabato had an RBI triple in the frame before Wyatt Hunt had a bases clearing double to highlight the action. 
 
Monmouth tacked on two more runs in the fifth as Denlinger was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded before Stahl lifted a sac fly to right. 
 
While Monmouth was powering up at the plate, Helmstetter took care of Towson at the plate. He went seven strong innings and allowed just two runners to score.
 
Monmouth claimed the 13-3 win. 
 
Game Two Recap: Game two was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Hawks and Tigers battle through four ties. 
 
The Hawks opened up a 3-1 lead as Denlinger had a two-run single and Stahl added an RBI base knock. 
 
Towson answered with a combined three runs between the fourth and fifth innings and led 4-3. 
 
A James Harmstead RBI double and a Chris Andrews' sac fly put the Hawks back on top 5-4 after five innings. 
 
Towson scored three in the top of the sixth for a 7-5 advantage. 
 
Monmouth drew even on a Denlinger two-run single in the bottom of the sixth. 
 
The Hawks weren't done yet as Dylan Perry stole third in the top of the seventh and scored on a Towson error. Harmstead drew a bases loaded walk in the frame to make it 9-7. 
 
Benzinger shut down the Tigers over the final two innings as he did not allow a batter to reach while closing out the win.

NOTES & QUOTES
"It was a very good start to conference play. Drew Helmstettter set the tone in the first game and we swung the bats well. We were able to score early, with a very balanced attack at the plate and created some pressure and were opportunistic. Austin Denlinger, Casey Caufield, Wyatt Hunt, Eric Sabato and Phil Stahl had some big hits."
 
"We battled in the second game and came away with the win. It was a total team win: credit to our guys for coming from behind in a back and forth game.  Everyone contributed in some manner:  Chris Andrews had a big pinch hit AB in the middle of the game to drive in a run, later on Dylan Perry had a heads up baserunning read that enabled us to manufacture a big run in a big spot. Derek Benzinger was able to close it out."
 
"I am very proud of how we played today and super impressed with how our older guys have been playing. We look forward to getting back out there on Sunday."

• Head coach Dean Ehehalt

Game One Notes
- Harry Padden scored a season-high three runs and extended his hit streak to eight games.
- Austin Denlinger scored a season-high three runs in the game and knocked in two runs.   
- Phil Stahl went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and a season-high five RBIs. 
- Drew Helmstetter had five strikeouts in the contest. It was his fifth start with at least three strikeouts. 

Game Two Notes
- Eric Sabato had two more hits in game two and has now hit safely in 10 straight games. He has eight multi-hit games in that stretch. 
- Sabato scored a season-high three runs in the game. 
- Austin Denlinger had a season-high four RBIs in game two. 

NUMBERS CRUNCH
Game One Numbers
- Monmouth's 13 runs were a season-high. The Hawks improved to 3-0 this season when they score 10 or more runs in a contest. 
- The Hawks held a 13-10 edge in hits in the contest. 
- The Hawks had eight extra base hits in the contest, six of which were doubles. 
- Drew Helmstetter picked up his second win of the season after going seven innings and allowing just two runs, one of which was earned. 
- Max Simpson took the loss for Towson as he went 3.1 and was charged with nine runs. 
 
Game Two Numbers
- The Hawks and Tigers each had 10 hits in the contest. 
- Monmouth added two more doubles in the contest. Austin Denlinger had three doubles on the day for the Hawks.
- Colin Ruddy picked up his first win of the season in relief for Monmouth. He went two innings, allowed three runs and struck out three. 
- Derek Benzinger's save was his second of the season. He tossed the final two innings with one strikeout. 
- Andrew Luczak took the loss for Towson as he went 0.2 innings and gave up two runs.
 
NEXT UP
Monmouth and Towson wrap up its series on Sunday, Mar. 24 at 1 p.m. That game will be played at First Energy Park in Lakewood, New Jersey.