Whittier, CA – The Montclair State baseball team closed out its West Coast trip on Saturday as the Red Hawks fell to Menlo (CA) and tied Whittier College in the California Invitational. MSU, which is now 3-5-2 on the season, lost to Menlo, 11-6 before forging a 6-6 in 13 innings with Whittier.
Against Menlo, Montclair State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second as
ROB BOWNESS belted the first of his two home runs. Bowness led off the inning with a solo shot to left field.
THOMAS MEYER then reached on an error and scored from first base on an errant pickoff attempt. After the Oaks got a run back in the bottom of the inning, Bowness connected on another solo home run to put MSU in front, 3-1.
Menlo would tie the game for the second time, but Montclair answered in the fourth as
MICHAEL NUNES drove in two runs with a single. The game then shifted in the Oaks' favor as Menlo scored once in the fifth and twice in the sixth to take a 6-5 lead. The Red Hawks would tie the game in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to
MATT HARTWICK, however, Menlo scored five time in the eighth to take the lead for good.
Bowness was 4-for-4 at the plate while
BRIAN BUTLER collected three hits.
JAMES SCELZO and
ROBERT CLARK each had two hits for MSU, which registered 14 hits in the game.
In the Whittier game, MSU fell behind 2-0 after the top of the first, but responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
ANDREW VICARO tied the game with a two-run single and
SCOTT EVANGELIST doubled home the go-ahead run. The Red Hawks added another run in the fourth on an Evangelist RBI single.
Whittier would take the lead with three runs in the fifth and added another in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead before Montclair State tied it in the bottom of the inning.
KEVIN CUOZZI brought MSU within a run with a run-scoring base hit and Evangelist tied the game as he came home on an error.
Over the next seven innings, each team had their share of opportunities to win the game, however the bullpens got the job done. Montclair's relief corps of
CHRIS SCHINDLER,
JAY COOK,
ALEX THOMPSON and
MARTY CABALAR combined for 7 2/3 innings of three-hit ball. Cabalar went the final four innings allowing two hits with a pair of strikeouts.
Bowness and Evangelist each had three hits in the game for Montclair, which collected 15 overall.
The Red Hawks return to action on Tuesday, March 21 as they face Wilmington (DE) in the 2006 home opener at Yogi Berra Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
