College Baseball
Monmouth University 11, Rider University 4
WEST LONG BRANCH?Despite three doubles by freshman Mason Heyne (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock), the Broncs lost at Monmouth Tuesday. “Monmouth would be among the top four teams in the MAAC,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis.
Rider (17-14) scored all four of its runs in the fifth inning on three hits, the biggest hits a two-run double by senior David Hayes (Sunrise, Fla./American Heritage) and an RBI double by junior Sean Olson (Vineland, N.J./St. Augustine Prep).
The four runs cut the Monmouth lead to 7-4. “The game wasn't as bad as the score indicates,” Davis said. “It's 7-4 in the sixth. We made a run but we didn't shut the door on them, and we didn't get anything more going offensively.”
The Hawks (19-9) scored three more in the seventh inning on four hits, including a solo home run by Levittown's Ryan Terry. The 2007 Truman graduate had three hits and needed just a triple for the cycle.
Junior James Hayes (Sunrise, Fla./Piper), junior Maurice Williams (Ocean, N.J./Monmouth Regional) and freshman John Ralston (Annandale, Va./Paul VI) also collected hits for the Broncs. “Offensively we gave ourselves a chance,” Davis said.
Heyne hit his third double of the game in the eighth inning, his team-high 12th of the season, and has a slugging percentage of 1,272 over his last three games.
Monmouth collected 12 hits off of five Rider pitchers. “We kicked a couple balls, they got some big hits and it got away from us,” Davis said.
Sophomore Ryan Miller (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) started and allowed just one earned run in three innings of work.
Sophomore Brian Herman (Levittown, Pa./Conwell-Egan) pitched two innings of relief and struck out three, allowing just one run on three hits. “Herman threw fine,” Davis said. “He hasn't pitched in a while and did a good job.”
Rider hosts NJIT Wednesday at 3:30. “Hopefully we'll bound back tomorrow,” Davis said.
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