April 17, 2001
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - The Lafayette baseball team came up short versus Monmouth on Tuesday, losing a rain-shortened decision, 11-8, at Metzgar Fields.
The game was called in the top of the seventh inning due to continuing rain and increasingly slippery playing conditions. Officially, the teams played six innings of baseball, one more inning than the mandatory five innings required for an offical game.
Lafayette struck for four runs in its first at-bat of the contest. Jason Boyd (Littlestown, Pa./Littlestown), Brian Heyessey (Highstown, N.J./Highstown), Ian Burley (Nazareth, Pa./Notre Dame), Matt Tambellini (Millville, N.J./Sacred Heart) and Craig Alexander (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) led off the inning with five-straight singles. The first two runs of the inning scored on an error and a wild pitch. Tambellini followed with his RBI-single, and Jon Kline (Hingham, Mass./Thayer Academy) drove in Lafayette's fourth run with a sacrifice fly.
Monmouth tied the game with four runs over the second and third innings off Lafayette starter Marcus Ward (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh). Ian Magley's groundout drove in Monmouth's lone run in the second to make it 4-1. The Hawks struck back for three more in the top of the third. Jeff Toth singled home Lance Koenig and Jay Law who had both reached on singles. Mike Kelly tied the game with an RBI single that scored Toth and set the score at 4-4.
Lafayette reliever Kevin Swords (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) replaced Ward to begin the fourth inning. Monmouth broke the game open with four runs in that inning. Koenig belted a two-run home run for the Hawks and Law followed suit with a solo shot. After a flyout, Mike St. Martine connected for the third home run of the inning to give Monmouth an 8-4 advantage.
Monmouth tacked on three more runs in the fifth off Lafayette reliever Paul Fischetti (Brightwaters, N.Y./Bay Shore). Greg Landis' RBI-triple proved to be the game-winning hit. Law and Paul Grasso added RBI-singles.
Trailing 11-4 in the top of the fifth, Lafayette got a pair of runs back on a two-run double from Jason Moll (Montville, N.J./Newark Academy). Lafayette scored two more runs in the home half of the sixth. Boyd scored on a throwing error and then Tambellini drove in the Leopards' final run of the inning with a single to make it 11-8.
Lafayette (7-24) and Monmouth (15-17) were well into the top of the seventh inning when the umpires called the game due to rain. The teams were scheduled to play nine innings.
Swords took the loss for Lafayette, throwing one inning in which he allowed four runs and four hits. Andrew Palmieri was the winner, throwing five innings while allowing 10 hits and seven runs.
Lafayette is scheduled to return to action at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday when the Leopards host Marist at Metzgar Fields.
