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Monmouth University Athletics

RJ Mustaro jumps in the air and screams while rounding the bases after a home run
Anya Kazmierczak
RJ Mustaro got the scoring started with his home run against Hofstra.
4
Hofstra HOFSTRA 2-9
5
Winner Monmouth University MONMOUTH 7-7
Hofstra HOFSTRA
2-9
4
Final
5
Monmouth University MONMOUTH
7-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Hofstra HOFSTRA 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 4 11 1
Monmouth University MONMOUTH 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 X 5 7 0

W: Opanel, Kevin (2-1) L: Grady Lacourciere (0-2) S: Horvath, David (3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Hawks Battle For Win Over Hofstra in Home Opener

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Three runs in the sixth inning proved to be the difference as the Monmouth University baseball team battled for a 5-4 win over Hofstra University in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) action on Friday.
 
The Hawks stretched their current win streak to six straight games and won their home opener with the victory.
 
The first three innings of the contest belonged to the pitchers as both Ryan Mealy and Carlos Martinez worked around the occasional baserunner and kept things scoreless.
 
The Hawks were the first to break through as RJ Mustaro led off the bottom of the fourth with his third home run of the season.
 
The Hawks extended their lead to 2-0 in that frame as Simmi Whitehill doubled and came around to score.
 
Hofstra scored one in the fifth and two in the sixth for a 3-2 advantage. 
 
Chris Walsh laced the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the sixth over the fence in right center and tied the score at 3-3. 
 
The Hawks weren't done in that frame as Will Fahey had a sac fly before Colin Richter's bunt base hit scored a run. Monmouth led 5-3 after six.
 
Hofstra got a run back in the top of the seventh and made it a 5-4 game.
 
Kevin Opanel stranded runners on second and third in the top of the eighth and David Horvath had a pair of strikeouts in the ninth to close out the win. 
 
Notes
  • The Hawks are 4-0 to start CAA play. It's the first time since the 2022 that the Hawks are 4-0 to start conference play. That year, the Hawks started MAAC play with seven straight victories.
  • The six straight victories by Monmouth are the longest win streak by a Hawks squad since the 2021 team won 12 straight games.
  • The Hawks hit a pair of home runs on Friday and has now homered in six straight games. 
  • Sam Saucke and RJ Mustaro each extended their hit streak to seven straight games.
  • Simmi Whitehill has reached base safely in all 14 games this season after he walked in the first. 
  • Chris Walsh had his third straight multi-hit game and seventh of the season. 
  • Brendan Buecker drew three walks which is tied for the most by a Hawk this season (Sam Saucke – Feb. 14).
  • Colin Richter stole his team-leading seventh base in the game. 
  • Kevin Opanel secured his second win of the season with 2.2 innings of relief work. He allowed one run on four hits while striking out two.
  • David Horvath picked up his team-leading third save of the season while allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Up Next
  • The Hawks and Pride continue their series on Saturday, Mar. 14. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and that game will air on FloCollege.
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