MERION STATION, Pa. – Joey Gale's first at bat of the day was the Hawks' last as his walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth led the Saint Joseph's baseball team past Monmouth, 7-6, at Smithson Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (8-9) took the lead on a two-run home run by Owen Petrich in the bottom of the first.
 
• Austin Denlinger hit an RBI single and Eric Sabato followed with a two-run double in the third to put the visitors on top.
 
• Brandon Drapeau tied the game in the bottom of the third with an RBI single of his own.
 
• Monmouth (4-11) went ahead again in the fourth on a fielder's choice and an error, but Petrich answered the bell with a double to left to knot the game once again.
 
• It would stay tied at 4-4 until the top of the eighth, when Denlinger drew a bases-loaded walk and Sabato hit an RBI groundout to give Monmouth a 6-4 lead.  A Ryan Weingartner fielder's choice got one back in the bottom of the frame to set up the dramatic finish.
 
• With one out in the ninth, Carter Jagiela was hit by a pitch before being lifted for pinch runner Jakob Reed.  Pinch hitter Tim Dickinson followed with an infield single before a walk to Drapeau loaded the bases and moved both the tying and winning runs into scoring position.
 
• Max Hitman lofted a ball to center that was chased down by Monmouth's Dylan Perry, but it was deep enough to score Reed and tie the game.
 
• Two pitches later, Gale – who had entered as a pinch runner himself in the eighth – lined a single to left; Sabato's throw was late and Dickinson scored from second to set off the postgame celebration.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• In a reversal of Friday's decisions, it was Matt McShane earning the win for SJU after allowing one hit in an inning and two-thirds of shutout relief, while Derek Benzinger took the loss for Monmouth after ceding two runs on three hits in an inning and a third.
 
• Domenic Picone got the start for Saint Joseph's, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out nine in a six-inning no-decision.  Kevin Opanel also took a no-decision for Monmouth, allowing four runs on eight hits in six and two-thirds.
 
• Gale's single marked his first career run batted in.
 
• Petrich racked up three hits on Sunday to go with three more RBI; over the course of Saturday and Sunday he reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances, driving in eight runs on seven hits in that span.
 
• Jagiela and Nick Senior added two-hit days for the Hawks as well, while Conlan Wall scored twice and posted another two-walk game, already his sixth multi-walk game of the season.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks host Navy on Wednesday at Smithson Field.  The game is set for 3:00 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.