FINAL SCORE
Monmouth 5 (22-26)
FDU 3 (12-34)
 
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Senior Aidan Watson connected on his first career home run which helped the Monmouth University baseball team beat FDU, 5-3 on Wednesday afternoon. 
 
After Joey Ciancimino struck out the side in the top of the first, the Hawks wasted little time in getting on the board in the bottom half of the frame. Casey Caufield stroked a single through the left side and came around to score on Chris Andrews' two-out single.
 
The Hawks added to their lead in the bottom of the second. Monmouth loaded the bases with two outs on a single and two walks. Caufield had a perfectly placed double that scored all three runs and made it a 4-0 game. 
 
FDU got one back in the top of the third on an RBI single. 
 
Leading off the bottom of the fourth, Watson cranked the first pitch he saw over the fence in left field for a 5-1 advantage. 
 
FDU scored twice in the top of the fifth and cut the Monmouth lead to 5-3. David Horvath got the final out of the fifth and stranded a pair of Knights. 
 
Jacob Ciccone and Nick Tamburro combined to allow just two hits and a walk over the final four innings and closed out the 5-3 win.

NOTES 
- The Hawks move to 61-41all-time against FDU after winning both games against the Knights this season. Overall, the Hawks have won five straight over FDU.
- Monmouth improved to 6-2 this season against teams from the state of New Jersey (wins over NJIT, FDU, Saint Peter's, Princeton, Rutgers, FDU; losses to Rider, Seton Hall).
- Chris Andrews had one hit and now needs just one more to reach 100 for his career. 
- Casey Caufield had two base knocks and now needs seven more hits to reach 200 for his career. 
- The Hawks had three stolen bases in the game, giving them 99 for the season. Monmouth needs one more steal to tie the school record for single-season steals (100-2009). 

NUMBERS CRUNCH
- Casey Caufield had a pair of base hits in the game. He leads the team with 19 multi-hit games this season. 
- Chris Andrews had a pair of steals in the game. It was his second game this season with multiple steals. He ranks third on the team with 17 steals.
- Aidan Watson's first career home run came in his first career start. He is the eighth different Hawk to homer this year. 
- Five Monmouth pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts in the contest. It was the second most strikeouts in a game by the pitching staff this season. Joey Ciancimino struck out the side in the first and second innings to lead the way. 
- David Horvath earned the win for the Hawks after getting the final out and stranding runners in the fifth. 
- Nick Tamburro picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth. 
- Cooper Montelbano took the loss for FDU after giving up one run on two hits in the first inning.

NEXT UP
The Hawks begin their final home weekend of the year when they host Delaware on Friday, May 9 at 3 p.m.