WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Three Hawks notched two hits apiece and the Saint Joseph's baseball team pounded out six extra-base hits on Wednesday afternoon en route to a 7-3 win at Monmouth.
Saint Joseph's (14-14) loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second, but Tyler Ksiazek notched back-to-back strikeouts to escape the jam. SJU broke through in the fourth, however, as Brian Lau led off with a double and Charlie Coghlin followed with a double of his own. After Cal Jadacki drew a walk and Taylor Boyd was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Peter Sitaras doubled to the gap in right center to score two and extend the lead to 3-0.
Monmouth (17-15) got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, stringing together three consecutive singles to scratch out a run. The home Hawks tried to tack one on with a double steal, but Boyd threw Robbie Alessandrine out at the plate to end the inning.
Deon Stafford, Jr., led off the seventh with his Atlantic 10-leading 11th home run of the season to restore the three-run cushion, but Aidan Favia responded for MU with a two-run shot in the bottom half of the inning to make it a 4-3 game.
John Brue gave the Crimson and Gray some breathing room in the top of the ninth, singling home Marc Giacalone, who had started the frame with a single and a stolen base, to push the edge to 5-3. After a walk to Matt Maul, Lau doubled the lead two batters later with a two-run double down the left field line.
Ryan Kelly then retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth, including a pair of strikeouts, to finish off the ballgame.
Pat Vanderslice got the start for SJU, tossing three no-hit innings and recording a pair of strikeouts. He improved to 3-2 on the season. Ksiazek fell to 2-2 after being charged with three runs on six hits and a pair of walks while fanning six in four innings of work.
Saint Joseph's returns to conference play on Friday as the Hawks kick off a three-game set at Massachusetts. First pitch from Amherst is set for 3:00 p.m. A video stream of the game will be available on the Atlantic 10 Network.
