Monmouth Baseball Drops Pair in Missouri

Fletcher Pitches Well in No-Decision

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. - (03/07/2021) — The Monmouth College Fighting Scots baseball team lost both games of a season-opening doubleheader against Central College in Fulton, Mo. on Saturday. The opener was a 7-3 setback while Central rallied with an 11-run 8th inning to win the nightcap 12-5.

Monmouth, playing as the visiting team in the opener, took the lead in the top of the second inning. Sean Davis (Barrington, Ill.) led off with a triple and scored on a RBI groundout from Justin Bost (Reynolds, Ill.) for a 1-0 lead.

The advantage was short-lived as Central scored five runs in the bottom of the inning off starting pitcher Trevor Davis (Waterloo, Ill.). The Fighting Scots defense committed three errors in the inning and the Dutch capitalized with back-to-back RBI doubles, Another run scored on a passed ball before Central's forth hit of the frame put them on top 5-1.

The Fighting Scots were down 7-1 as they came to the plate in the top of the sixth. Thomas Witty (Northbrook, Ill.) led off with a double and Matt Temaner (Gurnee, Ill.) drew a walk. With one out Mike Dato (Oswego, Ill.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A two-out error by Central allowed Witty and Temaner to score but that was as close as Monmouth got, falling 7-3.

The Fighting Scots were the home team in game two and Central took a 1-0 lead with a solo homer off starting pitcher Addison Fletcher (Monmouth, Ill.) in the third inning. Fletcher pitched well overall scattering five hits and striking out eight over six innings while leaving with a 5-1 lead.

Monmouth tied the game in the fourth inning and took the lead in the fifth. Shamus Murphy (Milan, Ill.) led off the fourth with a double and scored on a single by Jordan Ball (Moscow Mills, Mo.). In the fifth Bost led off with a single and moved to second when Jackson Van Iwaarden (Ballwin, Mo.) walked. Murphy walked with one out to load the bases and Ball walked to score Bost for a 2-1 Monmouth lead. Temaner's single put the Scots up 3-1 and Logan Komater (Ottawa, Ill.) made it 4-1 with a RBI fielders' choice.

Van Iwaarden walked with one out in the sixth before Jack Kuethe (Pekin, Ill.) singled. Van Iwaarden came around to score on a fielders' choice as the Scots took a 5-1 lead.

Monmouth used three pitchers in the eighth inning as Central scored 11 times. The Dutch sent 17 batters to the plate in the inning and had just four hits as they drew four walks and Monmouth committed four errors.

"We showed that we can play some pretty good baseball but we also showed we are inexperienced in a few areas," said head coach Alan Betourne. "We need to come together and figure out a better way to approach this next week. It's definitely there, they have to want it."

NOTE: The box score from the two games has not yet been provided by the site. Stats will hopefully be uploaded to Monmouthscots.com in the near future.

Monmouth Moments: Fletcher struck out a career-high eight in the nightcap…He tied his career high with six innings pitched…Trevor Davis made his first college start on the mound in game one…Last year he picked up the Fighting Scots only save…Monmouth is 3-3 in season-opening games over the last six years…Monmouth had 12 hits in the nightcap…They had three extra-base hits in the double header…Reliever Nathan Willig (Oswego, Ill.) threw five innings in relief of Davis in the opener…He struck out six and allowed two runs…The strikeouts and innings are both career-highs for the junior…The Scots are next in action on Saturday, March 13 with the home opener, a double header against Simpson College…Game one at Glasgow Field is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

Follow along on twitter at @MonmouthGameday and @MCFightingScots. Follow on Instagram and @MonmouthCollegeAthletics. For news and stories check out the official athletics website at www.MonmouthScots.com