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Dave Saffran

Baseball

Wagner Bests Monmouth 9-2 In Game Two

Box Score / Box Score (PDF) / Jayson Keel Postgame Interview / Photo Gallery

Staten Island, NY -
Wagner plated four runs in the bottom of the third and never looked back en route to a decisive 9-2 victory over Monmouth, which won game one 2-0, in the second game of today's doubleheader at Richmond County Bank Ballpark. Sophomore RHP Ryan Casey (Paramus, NJ / St. Joseph Regional) collected his second-straight complete-game victory, striking out five while yielding two runs on eight hits and just one walk over 7.0 solid innings of work.

In victory, the Seahawks improve to 8-13 and 4-2 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Hawks fall to 12-8 and 4-2 in the league. The teams will conclude the weekend series with another doubleheader tomorrow at 12:00 pm. Live audio of the games can be accessed by clicking HERE with live stats attainable by clicking HERE

In a total-team effort, which saw all nine regulars reach base safely, the Green & White defense also turned in superb performance, highlighted by a pair of impressive double plays - including the rare 3-6-1 twin killing in the seventh inning that helped close out the defending NEC Regular Season Champions.

MU jumped in front on Kyle Perry's first career home run, a solo shot to left field with two outs in the top of the second inning.

After Casey evaded further trouble in the top of the third, the offense finally broke through in the bottom part of the frame.

Senior Tommy Higgins (Port Monmouth, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) led off with a single before advancing to second on a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt when the speedy third baseman beat the throw to the bag. Sophomore Ian Miller (Downington, PA / Bishop Shanahan) then drew a walk, loading up the bases with no outs. Following a visit to the mound, LHP Andrew McGee uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Higgins to score and junior Nick Alfano (Coral Springs, FL / North Broward Prep) and Miller moved up to second-and-third, respectively. Graduate student Bill Murphy (Cranford, NJ / Roselle Catholic / Rutgers) then gave the Wagner its first lead of the series with a RBI ground out, scoring Alfano while pushing Miller to third. Senior Eddie Brown (Edison, NJ / St. Joseph's (Metuchen) / Seton Hall) followed by reaching via a hit by pitch, before stealing second. McGee then got the second out via a pop fly, before junior Jayson Keel (Starkville, MS / Starkville / Holmes CC) picked the pair up with a two-run single, scoring Miller and Brown while giving the Seahawks what would turn out to be an insurmountable 4-1 lead.

Monmouth got a run back in the top of the fourth inning on a Perry sacrifice fly, only to have the Green & White answer with one of its own in the bottom part of the frame. Sophomore Chris Smith (Tampa, FL / Freedom / Ellsworth CC) doubled down the left field line while knocking McGee out of the game. Smith then stole third on the first pitch from RHP Neil Harm, before scoring on an errant throw from the catch, extending the lead back out to 5-2.

Keel made it a 6-2 game in the bottom of the fifth inning with his third RBI of the day, plating Brown with a RBI single.

Wagner would put the game out of reach in the bottom part of the sixth with three two-out runs, as Brown drew a bases-loaded walk before Hayden Hunter (Sr., Santa Monica, CA / Notre Dame) rapped out a two-run single.

Casey (2-1), meanwhile, was in total control while pitching to contact as his defense recorded two aforementioned double plays in the sixth and seventh innings, after Miller snuffed out a fifth-inning Hawk rally with a pair of tremendous catches - including one that the Keystone State native sprawled out for while robbing Jamie Rosenkranz of extra bases.

Keel led the offense, going 2-for-4 with three big RBI while Miller went 2-for-3 with two runs. Also scoring two runs for the Seahawks were Alfano and Brown while Higgins was the third Seahawk with multiple-hits, going 2-for-3.

Perret (2-for-3, double, RBI) was the lone multi-hit performer for the Hawks, which recorded eight hits.
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