FINAL SCORE
Game One
Michigan State 2 (3-0)
Monmouth 0 (2-1)
 
Game Two
Michigan State 4 (4-0)
Monmouth 1 (2-2)

CARY, N.C. – The Monmouth University baseball team was tripped up by Michigan State University in a doubleheader on Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
 
JD Greeley held the Spartans to just one hit through the first five innings in game one but surrendered a pair of runs in the sixth inning of an eventual 2-0 Michigan State win. In game two, Shane Dux drove in a late run and threw out a base stealer but the Spartans claimed the 4-1 victory.

Game One Recap: The Hawks had an early opportunity in game one. Casey Caufield and Chris Andrews reached in the first but were stranded as the Spartans got the final two outs  of the frame. 
 
Michigan State loaded the bases in the third but JD Greeley rolled a double play to get the Hawks out of the inning and out of trouble. 
 
Monmouth had two runners on in the fifth but were stymied by the Michigan State pitching staff. 
 
Michigan State used a pair of sac flies in the sixth inning, from Ryan McKay and Sam Busch, to take a 2-0 lead in the contest. 
 
Those two runs proved to be the difference as the Spartans claimed the 2-0 win.
 
Game Two Recap: Michigan State tried to get things going early as the Spartans loaded the bases with two outs in the first but Nick Tamburro got a foul out to get out of the inning. 
 
An RBI double from JT Sokolove in the second, gave Michigan State an early 1-0 lead. 
 
The Spartans tacked on three more runs in the sixth for a 4-0 advantage. 
 
Monmouth broke through in the top of the ninth as Aidan Bretschneider had a pinch-hit single and scored on Shane Dux's RBI single. That made the final score in game two, 4-1.

NOTES
Game One Notes
- Monmouth and Michigan State were facing each other for the first time since the 2001 season. 
- Joey Ciancimino made his Monmouth debut and recorded a strikeout in his one inning of work. 
- The Hawks have struck out at least two batters in every game this season. 

Game Two Notes
- Simmi Whitehill, Brendan Kenneally and Jake Nolan all made their Monmouth debuts in game two. 
- Chris Walsh ranks second in the CAA for triples this season.   

NUMBERS CRUNCH
Game One Numbers
- Casey Caufield had his second straight game with a pair of hits.
- JD Greeley notched six innings of work, the longest out of his career in his first career start.
- Greeley's three strikeouts are one shy of his career, set during the 2022 season.  
 
Game Two Numbers
- Chris Walsh had his second multi-hit game of the season. 
- Walsh's triple was his team-leading second of the season.
- Aidan Bretschneider had his first hit of the season and first since the 2023 season after missing all of last year. 
- Shane Dux recorded his team-leading fourth RBI in the contest. 
- Nick Tamburro, Brendan Kenneally and Stefan Swee each posted a pair of strikeouts in the contest. 
 
NEXT UP
Monmouth returns to action when it returns to the USA Baseball National Training Complex next weekend. The Hawks will face the University of Pittsburgh in a three-game set starting Friday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m.