BOX SCORE

West Long Branch, NJ – Mike Casale hit two home runs and drove in eight runs in leading Monmouth to a 15-6 win over Wagner in the finale of the teams' four-game set at the MU Baseball Field. With the weekend split, the Seahawks fall to 16-15 and an even 6-6 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Hawks improve to 19-16 and 8-4 in the NEC.

After rallying from an 8-3 deficit with three runs in the top of the sixth, the Green & White had a chance to tie or take the lead loading up the bases with two outs. Unfortunately for Wagner, Monmouth reliever Nick McNamara induced an inning-ending strikeout via the backwards K. The Hawks answered with seven unanswered runs in their half of the sixth and held the Seahawks scoreless the rest of the way.

In defeat, Wagner rapped out 11 hits, led by sophomore Jon Lucas (Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown), who went 2-3 with a two RBI and a run. Sophomore Jared Gruccio (Landisville, NJ / Buena Regional) notched his 11th multiple hit game of the year, going 2-5 with a run and is now hitting a team-best .436. Junior Joe Conforti (Staten Island, NY / Farrell) also recorded a pair of hits while sophomore Damian Csakai (Freehold, NJ / Freehold) extended his hitting streak to a season-best nine games with his two-run single in the top of the third.

After being held to just two runs and 12 hits in yesterday's doubleheader sweep, Monmouth recorded 15 runs on 15 hits highlighted by Casale's career game at the plate. The senior third baseman went 4-4 with two home runs, a double and eight RBI. Jamie Rosenkranz also had a big game, going 3-4 with four runs while Bobby Dombrowski went 3-5 with two RBI.

The Hawks struck first with three runs in the top of the second. After a pair of walks, Casale made it 3-0 with his first home run of the day

Wagner got those three runs right back in the top of the second on the strength of four singles and a sacrifice bunt. Lucas and Conforti led off with singles. After being bunted over to second-and-third by junior Brian Martutartus (Carlsbad, CA / La Costa Canyon), Csakai singled off of his former high school teammate Monmouth starter RHP Brett Brach down the left-field line, plating Lucas and Conforti. Csakai advanced to second on a wild pitch and was brought around on a Gruccio RBI single.

The Hawks responded with four two-out runs in the bottom of the third. Rosenkranz singled through the left side, plating Nick Pulsonetti to make it 4-3. Casale followed with a RBI single of his own through the left side to plate. Dombrowki capped the scoring with a two-run single through the right side, extending the lead out to 7-3.

Monmouth tacked on an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth, extending its lead out to 8-3.

Wagner fought back for three runs in the top of the sixth while batting around and chasing Brach from the game. Junior Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA) led off with a walk before sophomores Seth Boyd (Perth Amboy, NJ / Perth Amboy) and Matt Logan (Wall, NJ / Wall) singled, loading the bases with no outs. After Brach recorded the first out of the inning, Avella scored on a passed ball. Lucas cut it to 8-6 with a two-run single through the right side.

The Hawks responded by also batting around, scoring five runs on six hits while extending the lead out to 13-6. Monmouth capped the scoring in the bottom of the eighth on Casale's second home run of the day, a two-run shot to left field, providing the final 15-6 margin.

Brach improved to 5-0 on the year, striking out six while allowing six runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings of work. Nick Meyers struck out four over 3.0 innings to pick up his first save of the year. Sophomore RHP Ian Karlsson (Brooklyn, NY / Xaverian) gave up seven runs over 3.0 innings while falling to 1-1.

Wagner is at Saint Peter's on Wednesday, April 22 at 3:30 pm.