BOX SCORE

Staten Island, NY - Sophomore Tommy Higgins' (Port Monmouth, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) two-run single through the left side broke a 3-3 sixth-inning tie while capping a three-run, two-out rally in lifting Wagner to a 5-3 victory over Monmouth in the first game of a doubleheader at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

The Seahawks improve to 14-14 and 9-5 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Hawks fall to 13-15 and 7-7 in the league.

Monmouth struck first with a manufactured run in the top of the first inning. Josh Boyd singled on the first pitch of the game before stealing second and advancing to third on the throw. Jamie Rosenkranz plated Boyd with a RBI groundout to third base, making it 1-0 Hawks.

Wagner got that run back in the bottom of the second inning while tying the score up at 1-1. Junior Brian Martutartus (Carlsbad, CA / La Costa Canyon) doubled to right field with one out before scoring on a Jon Lucas (Jr., Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown) singled through the left side.

The Hawks regained the lead in the top of the third inning. Boyd doubled down the first-base line. Ryan Terry was then hit by a pitch and the pair advanced to second-and-third on a ground out. After Nick Pulsonetti was intentionally walked, Mike Casale singled on the first pitch he saw to right field, plating Boyd and Terry while giving Monmouth a 3-1 lead.

Senior Damian Csakai (Freehold Townships, NJ / Freehold Township) created Wagner's second run of the game with his feet in the bottom of the fifth inning. The speedy centerfielder led off with his second walk of the game before stealing his second base. Csakai then advanced to third on a well-placed ground out before scoring on junior Kevin McDonnell's (Bristol, CT / Avon Old Farms) plated Csakai with a RBI groundout to the shortstop.

The Seahawks would assume the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-out rally. Lucas got things going with a single up the middle. Junior Jared Gruccio (Jr., Landisville, NJ / Buena Regional) was then hit by a pitch. Head coach Joe Litterio kept the rally going by sending the runners on freshman Gaby Ramirez's (San Juan, Puerto Rico / Perkiomen (PA)) chopper to third while confusing the Hawk defense and allowing the freshman catcher to beat the throw for an infield hit.

Monmouth reliever Neil Harm then induced what looked like an inning-ending grounder, but the Hawks' second baseman booted the ball allowing pinch-runner Nick Alfano (Fr., Coral Springs, FL / North Broward Prep) to tie the game. Higgins followed with the eventual game-winning two-run single through the left side, plating Grucco and Ramirez.

Junior LHP David Rees (Staten Island, NY / Xavier) entered in the top of the seventh and retired the side without incident for his second save of the year.

Fifth-year senior RHP Matt Watson (Howell, NJ / Howell) earned his 10-straight NEC victory, improving to 3-2 while striking out three and allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk over 6.0 innings of work. His 18th career win leaves him just one off of the school-record shared by Joe Testa, Bill Willetts and Don Finley.

Monmouth starting pitcher RHP Pat Light took the defeat, allowing five runs, two earned, on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 5.2 innings of work.

Higgins led the offense going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI while Lucas also collected a pair of hits and a RBI. Junior Seth Boyd (Perth Amboy, NJ / Perth Amboy) extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a sixth-inning infield single.

For Monmouth, Josh Boyd recorded three of the seven Hawk hits while scoring two runs.