Matthew Batten Homers Twice, QU Baseball Drops Two To Monmouth

Saturday, April 30

Hamden, CT

12 PM

Quinnipiac University

17-25, 6-8

Monmouth

22-20, 12-5

Monmouth

Quinnipiac

Matthew Batten Homers Twice, QU Baseball Drops Two To Monmouth

4/30/2016 6:33:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Connecticut – The Quinnipiac University baseball lost both games of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doubleheader against Monmouth, 5-3 and 5-1, at the QU Baseball Field in Hamden, Conn. Quinnipiac drops to 17-26 overall and 6-9 in the MAAC while Monmouth improved to 23-20 and 13-6 in conference play.

Matthew Batten (Shelton, Connecticut) blasted a pair of home runs in the first game, while Joe Burns (Shelton, Connecticut) also connected for a long ball while Rob Pescitelli (Bayshore, New York) drove in the Bobcats' lone run in the second game.

The first game of the twin bill saw the Bobcats plagued by poor defense as three errors accounted for four unearned runs. Taylor Luciani (Berlin, Connecticut) was masterful as he held the Hawks hitless through four innings while allowing just one baserunner. After retiring Chris Gaetano to end the first, Luciani retired the next nine batters he faced before Ryan Bailey reached on a line drive to left field.

Luciani managed to pitch out of a jam in the fourth before he left the game with two runners on in the fifth. Grant Lamberton went down swinging before Cary Jacobson reached on an error and moved to third on a single by Dan Shea. With runners on the corners, Matthew Osieja (Wyckoff, New Jersey) came on in relief. Gaetano singled off Osieja to score Jacobson with an unearned run before Bailey walked. Robbie Hitt (Suffield, Connecticut) then entered a game and got a ground ball that was misplayed to allow another run to cross. With two outs, Clay Koniencki stole third, but an errant throw allowed him to score to give Monmouth a 4-1 lead.

Batten's led off the sixth with a home run to deep center field for his second of the day to cut Monmouth's lead to 4-2. After Monmouth pushed a run across in the top of the seventh, Joe Burns followed with a solo blast on the first pitch of the seventh to make it, 5-3. After John Bodenhamer (Maple Valley, Washington) went down swinging, Julius Saporito (Manalapan, New Jersey) followed with a double to right-center field. Aron Fried (Ossining, New York) then flew out to left before Brian Moskey (Higganum, Connecticut) went down swinging to end the game.

In the second game, Monmouth struck early, pushing two across in the second inning, one more in the fourth and then pushed its lead to 5-0 with a pair of runs in the seventh. Quinnipiac plated its lone run of the day in the bottom of the eighth when Moskey doubled off the bottom of the left field wall and then moved to third on a fly ball to right field by Batten. Pescitelli then hit a towering drive to deep center field to plate Moskey to cut Monmouth's lead to 5-1.

Quinnipiac returns to action on Tuesday, May 3 when it hosts Central Connecticut State for a non-conference match-up at the QU Baseball Field at 3 p.m. After a trip to Bryant on Wedneday, May 4, the Bobcats host Rider with a doubleheader set for Saturday, May 7 and Senior Day set for Sunday, May 8.