Scots Score 24 Runs in Baseball Opener, Split Saturday DH

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (03/05/2023) — NOTE: The game 2 box score is not available at this time.

The Monmouth College baseball team started the season with the sixth most runs in school history as they beat SUNY-Maritime College 24-9 in Saturday's double header opener. In game two the Fighting Scots lost 6-5 on a walk-off sacrifice fly against Northwestern-Minnesota.

The Scots scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Logan Komater (Ottawa, Illinois) singled, Jack Kuethe (Pekin, Illinois) walked and Raul Guillermo III (Miami, Florida) reached on an error to load the bases. Todd Fowler (Chatham, Illinois) walked to score Komater and Tyler Houck (Park Ridge, Illinois) reached on a fielder's choice as Kuethe scored. Christian Centeno (Miami, Florida) singled home a run and Nathan Reed (Chenoa, Illinois) made it 5-0 with a two-run double. Daniel Lummus (New Port Richey, Florida) doubled home a run and Nate Melvin (Ottawa, Illinois) made it 7-0 with a single.

Fowler led off the second with a walk and the Scots loaded the bases with one-out singles from Centeno and Reed. Lummus cleared the bases with a triple for a 10-0 Monmouth lead. Melvin's sacrifice fly made it 11-0 and Komated came around to score on an error for a 12-0 lead after two innings.

Addison Fletcher (Monmouth, Illinois) blanked the Privateers for two innings before two hit batters scored on a double in the third. The Privateers cut the Monmouth lead to 12-5 in the fourth inning with a home run.

The Scots bats went back to work in the bottom of the fourth. With two on and two out, Komater doubled home a run and Kuethe singled home another. Guillermo singled home Komater and Fowler double to put two in scoring position. Houck tripled to clear the bases and give the Scots a 17-5 lead. Reed clubbed the first home run of the season, leading off the fifth inning for an 18-6 Monmouth lead.

With the Scots up 18-8, the offense batted around for a third time in the eighth inning. Fowler singled home the first run of the inning and Houck followed with a RBI single. Lummus doubled home two and Komater made it 24-8 with a single. The Privateers scored in the top of the ninth before Luke Kelty (Spring Valley, Illinois) closed out the game.

Fletcher (1-0) picked up the win with eight strikeouts over five innings. Nicholas Corman (Monmouth, Illinois) pitched two innings before Cameron Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) and Kelty each pitched a frame.

In the second game, neither team scored in the first inning before the Scots got on the board in the top of the second. Centeno singled with one out and in his first collegiate at-bat, Reid Stufflebeem (Galesburg, Illinois) launched a two-run homer. Monmouth left the bases loaded in the inning and UNW tied the game in the bottom of the frame against lefty Jeff Garrett (Aledo, Illinois).

Monmouth tied the game in the fourth. Melvin was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Komater singled. With one out and runners on the corners, Guillermo lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, tying the game 3-3.

The same combination gave the Scots a lead in the sixth. Melvin singled, advanced to second on an out and scored on a single by Guillermo for a 4-3 Monmouth lead. An inning later, Melvin singled home Centeno for a 5-3 advantage.

UNW tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with two runs as the Scots committed two errors. Jakob Brokaw (Andalusia, Illinois) took over on the mound in the eighth and kept the game tied. Monmouth put a runner on base top nine but didn't score. The Eagles won the game with three straight singles and a sacrifice fly to center in the bottom of the ninth.

Brokaw (0-1) took the loss with one run allowed in 1 1/3 innings. Garrett struck out nine over seven innings of work.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: The last time the Scots scored at least 20 runs was in a 21-11 win at Illinois College on April 24, 2021The 24 runs are the most scored since April 11, 1998 and ties a game from March 9, 2006 against Lebanon Valley and a contest against Grinnell in 1970 for the sixth most in school historyThe record of 29 runs in a game was set in 1950 against EurekaFletcher's strikeout of the second batter in the top of the first inning was his 100th career strikeoutFletcher has nine career wins and he is 2-0 in four career starts in FloridaMonmouth is now 3-1 against Maritime with all four games coming in Fort PierceThe teams last played in 2019, a 3-0 Monmouth winMelvin, Komater, Guillermo and Centeno all had at least one hit in both gamesKomater had seven hits on the dayMonmouth had 37 hits in the two games and didn't commit an error against MaritimeMonmouth and UNW had never met in FloridaThe Scots play two 7-inning games against Elizabethtown College on Sunday with the first game starting at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT.