RICHMOND, Va. – The Monmouth University baseball team fell in a pair of close contests at the University of Richmond on Saturday afternoon.
 
Chris Walsh had a pair of hits in a 7-5 loss in game one. Sam Saucke had four RBIs for the Hawks but the Spiders held off a ninth inning rally for a 10-8 victory in game two.

Game One Recap: Richmond struck first with a run in the bottom of the first but Monmouth had the quick answer as Simmi Whitehill reached on a double and came around to score on a wild pitch.
 
Richmond went back on top in the bottom of the second. The Spiders sent 10 men to the plate and scored four times for a 5-1 lead. 
 
Monmouth pulled to within two in the third as Wyatt Hunt's double to center scored two and made it a 5-3 game. 
 
A sac fly from Jake Howlett in the fourth made it a 5-4 game. 
 
Richmond scored two in the bottom of the fourth and pushed its advantage to 7-4. 
 
Chris Walsh hit his first home run of the year in the top of the sixth and made it a 7-5 game.
 
The Hawks had one more chance in the ninth as they had runners on first and second but Richmond got the final out to secure the 7-5 win.
 
Game Two Recap: Sam Saucke drove the second pitch he saw over the fence in left field for his first career home run. The Hawks tacked on four more runs in the inning and took a 5-0 lead. Brendan Buecker had a two-run single, Will Fahey added an RBI base knock before Saucke drew a bases loaded walk to plate a run.
 
Richmond responded by scoring a run in each of the first three innings and plating five in the fourth for an 8-5 lead.
 
Monmouth got one back in the fifth and made it an 8-6 contest. 
 
Richmond scored two more runs and made it a 10-6 game heading to the ninth.
 
The Hawks loaded the bases which set the stage for Saucke's two run single that pulled Monmouth to within two. However, Richmond was able to get the final out and secure the 10-8 win. 

NOTES
- Chris Walsh had a pair of extra base hits for the Hawks in game one. He hit the first triple and home run of the season by a Monmouth player.
- Walsh had a hit in each game of the doubleheader.
- Simmi Whitehill has hit in each of the first three games of the season for the Hawks. 
-  Alec Couture made his return to the lineup for the Hawks in game one. Couture tossed four innings and allowed two unearned runs after missing all of the 2025 campaign.
- Will Fahey made his collegiate debut on Saturday. Fahey entered as a pinch runner in game one and then started in left in game two. 
- Kevin Fedoruk, Cory Pascarella and Riley Weatherwax all made their Monmouth debuts in game two.
- Colin Ruddy tossed an inning out of the bullpen in his first appearance after missing all of the 2025 campaign.
- Sam Saucke hit his first career home run. He finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and three walks in game two. 
- Aidan Bretschneider scored three runs in game two and tied Saucke for the most runs scored in a game this season.

NEXT UP
Monmouth heads to the Sunshine State for three games. The action starts Friday, Feb. 20 when the Hawks take on Virginia at 12 p.m.