May 24, 2018
Marist Box Score | Monmouth Box Score
STATEN ISLAND, NY - Fourth seeded Siena Baseball began its quest for a sixth MAAC Championship with a 6-3 triumph over No. 5 seed and defending champion Marist in its Tournament opener at Richmond County Bank Ballpark, but top seed Monmouth walked off 5-4 in the nightcap to push the Saints to the brink in the double elimination format. Siena will play in a MAAC Tournament elimination game Thursday at 7 p.m. vs. the winner of the preceding game between Marist and sixth seeded Niagara which gets underway at 3:30 p.m.
Game One: #4 Siena 6, #5 Marist 3
Brian Kelly's first inning opposite field grand slam proved to be the difference as Siena (20-34) secured its sixth straight 20-win season. First Team All-MAAC selection Tommy Miller added 7.2 strong innings on the mound to earn his ninth win.
Each of the Saints' first four batters reached to lead off the home half of the first. Second Team All-MAAC honoree Marcos Campos and First Team All-MAAC selection Phil Madonna started things off with back-to-back singles, before Second Team All-MAAC awardee Joe Drpich walked to load the bases. Kelly then deposited his second home run of the year over the right field wall to stake Siena to the commanding early 4-0 lead.
Marist (26-22) chipped away with single runs in the third and fifth innings, but a costly two-run throwing error in the seventh doomed the defending MAAC Champions and preseason favorites.
Campos scored twice and recorded three of the Saints' eight hits to extend his hitting streak to 22 games, an impressive feat which ultimately was snapped with a hitless performance in the nightcap. Madonna added both a pair of hits and runs scored for Siena which reclaimed a 33-32 advantage in the all-time series between the I-87 rivals, with their third win in four meetings this spring.
Game Two: #1 Monmouth 5, #4 Siena 4
Kyle Norman delivered the walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to advance regular season champion Monmouth (29-23) in the winner's bracket. The Hawks rallied with single runs in each of the final four innings, while scoring all five of their runs over the final six frames.
Four batters recorded two-hit performances for Siena which harbored a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth. Dan Lowndes drove in a pair of runs and Kelly scored twice, while both players also recorded two hits apiece.
The Saints jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second as Lowndes recorded an RBI single and Jonathan Crimmin later came in to score on a wild pitch. After Monmouth got on the board with an unearned run in the fourth, Siena pushed the lead back to a pair on another Lowndes run-scoring base hit in the sixth.
But the Hawks benefitted from an error in the sixth, and scored an unearned run in the seventh to draw even. The Saints were plagued by four costly errors, which ultimately led to three of the five Monmouth runs being unearned in the eventual one-run defeat.
The Hawks then claimed their first lead in the bottom of the eighth on a one-out home run by Zach Schild, but Siena rallied with the tying run on a one-out fielding error in the ninth to knot the score.
However, in the bottom of the ninth Monmouth put the first two runners aboard to threaten. The Saints then got a strikeout and fly out to come within one out of getting out of the jam, but Norman singled just off the outstretched glove of the diving third baseman Kelly to bring home J.P. Walsh with the winning run and send the red-hot Hawks to their 17th win in their past 20 games.
Brendan White was saddled with the tough luck loss for Siena despite surrendering just two earned runs on six hits over 8.1 innings to go along with a pair of walks and six strikeouts.
