Boyertown, PA – Second-seeded Montclair St. scored 13 runs in the top of the first inning and cruised to a 19-10 win over #5 Franklin & Marshall Thursday evening in the 2006 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional at Bear Stadium.

MSU (29-17-2) advances in the losers bracket to face the winner of the #4 Gwynedd-Mercy/#7 Frostburg St. game Friday at 7:00 p.m.  Franklin & Marshall is eliminated from the tournament and concludes its season with a record of 29-11.

After waiting nearly 3 ½ hours for a rain delay, the Red Hawks hit the ground running as the first seven batters of the game reached and scored for the Red Hawks.  ROB BOWNESS picked up his first hit of the tournament when he cracked a bases loaded double down the rightfield line to plate a pair.  Back-to-back RBI groundballs ensued and when the Diplomat defense could not retire Lou Poulitan on the sacrifice bunt attempt it ended a short outing for F&M starter Jeff Rowand.

Freshman reliever Brad Andres recorded the first out of the game on a pop out, but KEVIN CUOZZI, the ninth batter of the inning, singled home two more runs for MSU.  The top three batters in the Red Hawks' order all singled and scored for the second time in the inning as nine more batters followed Cuozzi to the plate before the top half of the first was over.  In all, the Red Hawks sent 18 batters to the plate and scored 13 runs on nine hits and a pair of F&M errors.

MSU starter JAY COOK, more than a half hour removed from his pregame warmups struggled a bit to find the plate as he walked two of the first three batters he faced.  Sophomore Pat O'Reilly knocked in a run for the Diplomats with a ground ball to third and Cook got out of the inning inducing a groundout to second.

The Red Hawks got the run back when Dan Rodriguez singled and scored his third run of the night in the second inning.  The visiting team tacked on two more runs in the third inning on a two-out, two-run single by Rodriguez to take a 16-1 lead after three innings.

MSU pushed across three more runs in the top of the fifth inning on two walks and three hits.  Pinch hitter Tommy Meyer opened the frame with a free pass and scored on BRIAN BUTLER's single down the leftfield line.  Bowness followed with a bases loaded walk and pinch hitter MATT HARTWICK was hit to force home the Red Hawks' 19th run.

F&M got all three runs back in the bottom of the fifth on three hits, the big blow a two-run double down the rightfield line off the bat of Gary Kruger.  Four more runs for the Diplomats in the home half of the sixth cut the gap to 19-8.  Four singles brought in the first run of the sixth and left the bases loaded for leadoff hitter Eric Milavsky who drove a ball over the centerfielder's head to plate a pair.  Rob Stern knocked in the Diplomats' eighth run with a groundout and reliever Matt Zeigler kept up the F&M momentum setting down the Red Hawks in order in the sixth and seventh innings.

Cook allowed a two-out baserunner in the seventh, but easily stranded him on a groundball to third.  Matt Metsch relieved Zeigler to start the ninth and stranded a runner after giving up a leadoff single.

Franklin & Marshall put two runners on in the ninth, but ended the game with a groundout to third.