GREENVILLE, N.C. (March 13, 2011) - Monmouth broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the ninth as the Rutgers baseball team dropped a 3-2 decision to the Hawks in its final game of the Keith LeClair Classic Sunday morning at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
The Hawks (4-6) jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage with single runs in the second and third. An infield error put a man on for MU with two outs in the second and Ryan Terry drove home Monmouth's first run with a single through the left side later in the frame. Dan Avella then homered in the third for the two-score lead.
Rutgers (5-8) threatened in the fourth with men on second and third and two outs in the frame thanks to a Russ Hopkins (Piscataway, N.J.) double, but Monmouth starter Dan Smith got out of the jam with an inning-ending fly out to right field.
The Scarlet Knights broke through in the sixth when pinch hitter Brandon Boykin (Teaneck, N.J.) led off the frame with a double down the right-field line, was sacrificed over to third and scored on a groundout to first base two plays later.
Sophomore Bill Hoermann (Toms River, N.J.) led off the seventh with an infield single and came around to score two plays later thanks to consecutive infield miscues by the Hawks. With Nick Favatella (Washington Twp., N.J.) and Pat Sweeney (Sparta, N.J.) aboard on the errors and no outs in the frame, Monmouth replaced Smith with reliever Matt Frazier. RU loaded the bases against Frazier with one out and threatened for more, but could not push across another run in the frame.
With the score tied at 2-2, Monmouth's Owen Stewart opened the ninth with a single and was sacrificed over into scoring position where Josh Boyd brought him home with a double to the gap in left-center field for the game-winning score.
Starter Nathaniel Roe (Plainfield, N.J.) (1-3) worked into the ninth with five strikeouts in 8.1 innings of work in the loss for the Scarlet Knights. Smith (1-1) picked up the win for the Hawks with five strikeouts and one earned run allowed on six hits in six innings of work. Monmouth reliever Andrew McGee worked a scoreless ninth to seal the victory.
Rutgers will travel to Norfolk, Va. where the Scarlet Knights will continue their spring break trip with games Tuesday and Wednesday against Old Dominion. Each contest is slated to begin at 3 p.m.
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