Baseball Sweeps First-Place Lawrence on Saturday

Scots collect 14 hits in both games, win game two 14-2

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (04/24/2022) — The Monmouth College baseball team scored 22 runs on Saturday and swept first-place Lawrence University with 8-7 and 14-2 wins. The Scots have won five straight games this week, four at home, and go for the series sweep on Sunday.

"The guys were ready to go and the weather was great which helps the mood," said coach Alan Betourne. "We are riding that winning streak and had confidence going into the day and it really showed."

Lawrence scored in the top of the first with a single, stolen base, groundout and sacrifice fly. The Scots answered with multiple runs in the bottom of the inning. Logan Komater (Ottawa, Illinois) led off with a walk and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Tyler Houck (Park Ridge, Illinois) singled to right to score Komater and tie the game. Justin Bost (Reynolds, Illinois) singled and with two down, Raul Guillermo (Miami, Florida) doubled to right-center to give Monmouth a 3-1 lead. Jackson Van Iwaarden (Ballwin, Missouri) singled home Guillermo for a 4-1 lead before Lawrence got out of the inning.

"Every time we play we want to score first, or as the home team come back and win the first inning and we did that today." said Betourne.

The Vikings plated two runs against Addison Fletcher (Monmouth, Illinois), one earned and one unearned. The Scots got one back in the bottom of the inning. Komater singled with one out and moved to second with two down when Houck was hit by a pitch. Bost gave the Scots a 5-3 lead with a single to right to bring home Komater.

Lawrence again scored one earned run and one unearned run in the third inning, this time tying the game 5-5. The Scots regained the lead in the bottom of the frame. Guillermo led off with a double and came around to score on a one-out single from Christian Centeno (Miami, Florida) for a 6-5 lead.

Fletcher kept Lawrence off the board over the next two innings and Monmouth added on. Van Iwaarden led off the fifth with a single and Centeno beat out a bunt for a single. Both runners moved up in a sacrifice bunt and Komater's single plated a pair for an 8-5 Monmouth lead.

Nicholas Corman (Monmouth, Illinois) took over for Fletcher on the mound in the seventh. Lawrence scored in the eighth, despite not getting a hit. They started the inning with a walk and stolen base, got another walk and a wild pitch put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly cut the Monmouth lead to 8-7 before Corman got a strikeout to leave the tying run at second base.

Tim McNally (Paw Paw, Illinois) came on in the ninth and got the Vikings 1-2-3 for his first save of the season. Fletcher (1-2) allowed four earned runs on seven hits over six innings to pick up the win. He walked two and struck out four. Corman allowed one run on no hits over two innings while walking three and striking out two.

"Our pitchers executed today and we had a game plan and they hit their spots," said Betourne. "We knew what we wanted to do and they hit their spots in both games."

Monmouth wasted little time in game two as they batted around in the bottom of the first inning. Komatter led off with a single and Nate Melvin (Ottawa, Illinois) beat out a bunt single. Houck laid down a sacrifice bunt and all three runners were safe on an error. Bost put the Chiefs on top 1-0 with a single and Kuethe doubled home two more for a 3-0 lead. Guillermo's single scored Bost and Kuethe for a 5-0 lead before Lawrence got their first out of the inning. With two down, Anthony Ruggles (Aledo, Illinois) singled home Guillermo for a 6-0 lead and to send the batting order back to Komater. Lawrence finally got out of the inning with the Scots sending 10 batters to the plate.

Lawrence scored two in the top of the second against starting pitcher A.J. Hatlestad (New Windsor, Illinois). In the bottom of the inning, Houck singled with one out and Bost reached on an error. With runners on the corners, Kuethe launched his team-leading fourth home run into the left field berm for a 9-2 Monmouth lead.

The Scots added on again in the fourth. Centeno led off with a walk and Ruggles singled to put runners on the corners. Komater reached on a fielder's choice as Centeno scored and Melvin singled. Houck reached on a fielder's choice and Bost singled home Komater for an 11-2 lead. A wild pitch plated Houck for a 10-run lead before Lawrence got out of the inning.

The Scots added two more in the fifth. Houck walked with one out and Bost doubled to put two in scoring position. With two down, Guilermo singled to center as both runners scored for a 14-2 lead. Eli Herrera (Romeoville, Illinois) retired the Vikings in order in the seventh for the run-rule win.

Hatlestad (4-3) got the win with six innings of work. He allowed two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out six.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Komater had three hits in the opener after also having three hits at Knox on ThursdayHe has seven 3-hit games in his careerBost leads the Scots with 32 RBIBost had three hits in both gamesKuethe drove in five runs in game twoGuillermo was 2-for-5 in game one and 2-for-4 in game twoHe drove in six runs on the day, four in game twoCenteno had a double in both games and three hits in game oneMonmouth had 14 hits in both gamesThe teams play at Noon Sunday.