FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24, 2001

MONMOUTH OUTMUSCLES ARMY IN SLUGFEST

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth University defeated the United States Military Academy,     17-14, in collegiate baseball action at Doubleday Field in West Point, N.Y. on Tuesday. The rain-shortened contest lasted eight innings.

Army (14-23-1) built a huge lead early on as the Cadets scored eight runs in the bottom half of the first inning. The inning featured eight hits, including a three-run double by Kyle Kalkwarf and an RBI triple by
Dominic Trippodo. Greg Sirko and Josh Minney also had run-scoring hits in the first. All eight runs were charged to Hawks’ starter Chris Heycock who lasted two-thirds of an inning.

Monmouth (20-18) responded with seven runs in the second inning to trim the lead to one run. With one out, Mike St. Martine tripled and scored on a Mike Kelly double. Brian Gismonde drew a walk and C.J. DeFilippo blasted a three-run home run to left field to cut the gap to 8-4. Ian Magley singled and Greg Landis and Lance Koenig walked to load the bases. Magley scored on a wild pitch and Jay Law drove in Landis and Koenig with a walk.

The Hawks tied the score in the top of the third as St. Martine doubled to rightfield and scored on a DeFilippo single.

With the score tied at 8-8, Army went back ahead with four more runs in the bottom half of the third. With two outs, Josh Holden walked and Miguel Gastellum singled and stole second to put runners at second and
third. Minney then singled to score Holden and Gastellum scored on an error the Hawks’ second baseman. Kalkwarf reached on an error to score Minney. Kalkwarf then stole second and advanced on a passed bll. He then scored on a Sirko single to give the Black Knights a 12-8 advantage.

Monmouth took the lead for good in the top of the fourth as they posted six runs.  Landis was hit by a pitch to start the inning. He moved to third base on a stolen base and a throwing error by the catcher. With
one out, Law singled to score Landis. Jeff Toth reached on a single and Mike St. Martine laced a three-run homer to trim the edge to even the score. Kelly doubled to centerfield and Gismonde walked. The pair third
and second bases, respectively, and Kelly scored on another throwing error by the Army catcher. Magley plated Gismonde for the final run of the inning, giving the Hawks a 14-12 lead.

Army scored a run in the bottom of the fifth as Minney singled, stole second base and scored on a Kalkwarf double to cut the gap to 14-13.

Monmouth added two insurance runs in the seventh inning as Magley was hit by a pitch to start the inning. A fielder’s choice put Landis at first in place of Magley. Landis stole second base and advanced to third
on the third throwing error of the day by the Cadets’ catcher. Koenig pushed Landis across with a sacrifice fly. Back-to-back doubles by Law and Landis accounted for the final run of the inning and the Hawks had a
16-13 cushion.

Army scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and Monmouth completed the scoring with a run in the top of the eighth.

Mike Hoffman (1-0) was credited with the victory for Monmouth. He pitched 5 1/3 innings of relief. He scattered nine hits and six runs, three earned. Gismonde and Kelly combined to pitch two innings of
one-hit relief. Kelly earned his fourth save of the season.

In a poorly played defensive contest, the teams’ combined for seven errors and 11 stolen bases. The game also featured seven doubles.

St. Martine went 3-for-5, including a double and home run, with three runs batted in and three runs scored. DeFilippo was 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. Magley and Law each added three hits for the Hawks.

Minney went 5-for-5 with three runs and two RBI for the Cadets. Kalkwarf was 2-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI.

Monmouth returns to action on Wednesday as the Hawks host St. Peter’s College in a 3:30 p.m. contest at Monmouth Field.