College Baseball
Monmouth University 8, Rider University 3
LAWRENCEVILLE?Despite three hits each by junior James Hayes (Sunrise, Fla./Piper) and junior Sean Olson (Vineland, N.J./St. Augustine Prep), the Broncs lost to Monmouth for the second time in eight days. “Two guys can't do it all,” said Rider head coach Barry Davis. “Olson's been solid. Hopefully he'll stay hot and the other guys will pick it up.”
Monmouth (24-9) scored four runs in the seventh inning on three hits, including a home run, to blow open a 4-3 game. “The four runs in the seventh really hurt us,” Davis said. “In sixty-eight percent of college baseball games, the winning team scores more in one inning than the losing team does in the entire game, and that happened today.”
Rider (20-16) tied the score at 3-3 in the third inning on the three hits, the biggest hit a two-run triple by junior Maurice Williams (Ocean, N.J./Monmouth Regional).
Monmouth took a 3-1 lead in the second inning on a three-run home run, and took a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning on one hit and three Rider errors. “We didn't play great,” Davis said, “not nearly good enough to beat a good team like Monmouth.”
Senior David Hayes (Sunrise, Fla./American Heritage) and sophomore Eric Woodrow (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton West) doubled for Rider.
Freshman Patrick Devlin (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock North) made his second collegiate start and pitched six and one-third innings, allowing five earned runs while striking out three. “Devlin threw well,” Davis said.
Monmouth has won its last seven games and 22 of its last 23 games. “I thought it was a solid win for Monmouth,” Davis said. “We're just not as good as they are right now.”
Rider hosts LIU Wednesday in a game originally scheduled to be played in Brooklyn. “Hopefully we'll come out and get a win tomorrow and get back on track,” Davis said.
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