QU Baseball Drops Series Opener To Monmouth

Friday, April 29

Hamden, CT

3 PM

Quinnipiac University

17-24, 6-7

Monmouth

21-20, 11-5

Monmouth

Quinnipiac

4/29/2016 5:43:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Conn. - Frank Trimarco tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts to lead the Monmouth baseball team to a 4-0 win over Quinnipiac in the opening game of a three-game series at QU Baseball Field.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 21-20 overall on the season and improve to 11-5 in MAAC play. Quinnipiac sees its record slip to 17-24 overall and 6-7 in conference.

After a slow start, Quinnipiac starting pitcher Thomas Jankins (West Brookfield, Mass.) settled in to throw eight strong innings, striking out six and walking one. However, Monmouth was able to score four times in the first three innings, keyed by a pair of opposite-field RBI doubles that flared just inside the line, and that was all the support that Trimarco would need as he improved to 5-4 on the year with the win.

The Bobcats had their best chance in the bottom of the sixth inning, as freshman second baseman Aron Fried (Ossining, N.Y.) led off by reaching on an error and sophomore center fielder Matthew Payero (Corona, N.Y. - pictured) followed with one of Quinnipiac's two hits on the day to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Junior shortstop Matthew Batten (Shelton, Conn.) hustled down the line on a grounder to second to avoid a double play and put runners on the corners with one out, but Trimarco got a foul pop up and a fly ball to left to get out of the jam.

Trimarco showed no signs of tiring in the late innings as he struck out the side in the eighth, the second time in the game that he struck out all three batters. Batten led off the ninth with a deep fly ball to left-center field, but Monmouth center fielder Cary Jacobson was able to track it down at the wall.

The Hawks got on the board in the second inning with two outs, after Jankins nearly escaped a second-and-third, none-out jam. Batten fielded a grounder at short and fired home to get the first out of the inning, but one out later, Justin Trochiano went the other way with a flare that fell just inside the right field foul line for an RBI double to break the tie.

The Hawks then scored three times in the third to give Trimarco more breathing room. A Jacobson single, a walk, and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with nobody out for the second straight inning. After Jankins bounced back with a strikeout, Ryan Bailey went the other way with a fly ball that fell just inside the left field line and out of the reach of Quinnipiac left fielder Julius Saporito (Manalapan, N.J.), who was shaded towards the gap and couldn't run it down. An RBI groundout made it 3-0, and then Adam Favia tacked on an RBI single between first and second to stretch the lead to 4-0.

Trimarco pitched to only 12 batters in the first four innings, as Batten led off the bottom of the first with a walk (the only one Trimarco would issue in the game), but was caught stealing to end the inning. With one out in the fifth, junior designated hitter Matthew Oestreicher (North Haven, Conn.) singled to center to end the no-hit bid, but did not advance any further.

Bailey finished the game 3-for-4 with an RBI for Monmouth, which had 10 hits as a team. Pete Papcun was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Jordan McCrum was also 2-for-4.

The teams will complete their three-game series when they play a doubleheader tomorrow, beginning at 12 noon.