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Staten Island, NY - Wagner scored six runs with two outs while hitting .400 (4-for-10) with runners in scoring position en route to a 7-4 win over Monmouth in today's first game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark. In victory, the Seahawks improve to 9-13 and 5-2 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Hawks fall to 12-9 and 4-3 in the league.
Freshman
Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ / Monroe Township) led a 10-hit attack, going 3-for-3 with a triple and three RBI while also scoring a run. Seniors
Eddie Brown (Edison, NJ / St. Joseph's (Metuchen) / Seton Hall) and
Hayden Hunter (Santa Monica, CA / Notre Dame) each went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs, rounding out the top performers on offense for the Green & White.
Wagner opened the scoring with a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs and Brown on first base, Hunter singled through the left side on the first pitch he saw, before
Jayson Keel (Starkville, MS / Starkville / Holmes CC) worked a walk to load the bases. Dini followed with his first hit of the game, a single to left field that plated Brown and Hunter to make it 2-0.
Monmouth got one of those runs back in the top of the second on an Ed Martin RBI single, scoring Tim Bickford, who had previously singled.
The Seahawks again scored two runs on three hits in the bottom of the third inning, while pushing the lead out to 4-1. Brown started the threat with a one-out single, before stealing second. Hunter moved Brown him to third with a single to center field, before Keel plated Brown with a RBI ground out to third. On the play, Hunter moved to second and would come around another two-out single from Dini.
The Green & White continued to put the pressure on the Hawks with another tally in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs, sophomore
Ian Miller (Downington, PA / Bishop Shanahan) stole second, before advancing to third on a passed ball. Miller would then come around to score on a balk when attempting to steal home.
MU continued to fight and scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning, while knocking junior RHP
Dakota Dvorak (Pompano Beach, FL / North Broward Prep) out of the game. Dvorak, however, was solid striking out two while yielding three runs on nine hits over a career-high 5.1 innings of work.
In the bottom part of the sixth inning, Dini led off with his NEC-best third triple of the year. Monmouth starter LHP Dan Smith then recorded the next two outs and appeared poised to escape unscathed. However, junior
Nick Alfano (Coral Springs, FL / North Broward Prep) would have none of that, crushing his second career home run to left field while plating Dini in the process and extending the lead to 7-3.
The Hawks would tack on a run in the top of the seventh inning, before freshman RHP
Anthony Battaglia (Staten Island, NY / St. Joseph By The Sea) closed the door for his second save of the year. Brown capped the game with a diving snare of Kyle Perry's shot up the middle, before getting to his feet and throwing out the MU catcher by a step.
Dvorak (1-4) earned the win while Smith (3-3), who allowed seven runs, six earned, with three strikeouts over 5.2 innings, took the loss.
Five different players recorded multiple hits for MU, which outhit Wagner by a 12-10 count.
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