1998 Men's Baseball -- Results and Game Summaries

3/14/98 at Webster [St. Louis,MO] 9-8, 15-5 (2-0)
Monmouth swept its season-opening doubleheader on the way to Florida by pounding out 29 hits in two games. Jason Filar's leadoff homer and Shawn Hickey's RBI single in the eighth inning capped a 9-8 comeback victory. In the nightcap Casey Boydstun drove in five runs and senior Joel Fulgenzi hit a home run and two doubles to lead the Monmouth offense. With the game tied at 5-5 after two innings, Monmouth exploded for ten runs in the next three innings to secure the victory.

3/16-21/98 at Panama City, Florida
3/16 - Carthage 8-9, 4-10 (2-2)
Monmouth blew a 7-4 lead in the first game and dropped a pair against nationally-ranked Carthage. The Scots hurt themselves by committing six errors and allowing 12 hits in the opener and then saw the Redmen open a big lead in the middle innings of the second game. Joel Fulgenzi connected for his second homer of the season to lead off the seventh inning but it wasn't enough as the Scots evened their season record.

3/17 - UW-Platteville 2-4 (2-3)
Dustin Salmon's two-run homer in the fifth inning was all the offense the Scots could muster against Platteville as MC lost their third straight in Florida. Mark Foulkes was rocked for 12 hits in six innings of action and the Pioneers scored single runs in four of the first five frames for the win.

3/19,3/21 - Avila 12-11, 3-6 (3-4)
The Scots outslugged NAIA Avila in their fourth Florida game but lost to the Eagles two days later. Charles Holloway drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth inning to force in the winning run as Monmouth withstood a six-run rally by Avila in their final two at-bats. Jay Turnbull started the Scots' scoring with a two-run single in the first inning, Dustin Salmon cracked a two-run double in the second and Nate Pokrass added a two-run homer in the third. Three seventh-inning runs were not enough in the teams' second meeting of the week as the Fighting Scots could not overcome a six-run deficit. Turnbull surrendered three home runs and took the loss on the mound.

3/20 - Millikin 2-4 (3-5)
The long ball proved to be the killer again for Monmouth as Brad Davis gave up a three-run shot in the third inning and Millikin held on for a 4-2 victory. Doubles by Jay Turnbull and Kevin Gordon produced a pair of runs in the Monmouth fourth but the Scots could only manage three other hits. Davis allowed eight hits and struck out four batters but suffered his second loss of the week.

3/24/98 at Augustana 3-7, 5-7 (3-7)
Monmouth dropped a non-conference doubleheader in its first action since returning from its Spring Break trip. Two costly errors paved the way for two unearned Augustana runs in the fourth inning of the opener and the Vikings tallied five runs in the next two frames to take the win. Shawn Hickey's two-run single gave the Scots an early 2-0 cushion in the second game but Monmouth could not keep the lead. Augustana scored in each of the first five innings to complete the sweep.

3/29/98 vs. Wisconsin Lutheran 4-1, 12-0 (5-7)
Monmouth rebounded with a pair of victories in its first home games of the season, including an impressive 12-0 shutout win in the nightcap. A two-run homer by Charles Holloway in the fifth inning of the opener gave the Scots a 4-0 lead and Brad Davis allowed a harmless single run in the seventh en route to his first win of the season. Matt Carlson enjoyed tremendous run support in the second game as six different Scots drove in runs. Dustin Salmon led off the game with a home run and Tim Creeden sparked a five-run third inning with his first homer of the year as Monmouth won by the ten-run rule after four innings. Salmon added a triple and joined Jim Herget and Casey Boydstun with two RBI each.

3/29/98 vs. Aurora 4-26 (5-8)
In their third game of the day the Fighting Scots were blasted by nationally-ranked Aurora to the tune of 24 hits and 26 runs. Monmouth actually took a brief 3-2 lead on Joel Fulgenzi's two-run homer in the bottom of the first but the Spartans tallied eight runs in both the second and fourth innings to blow the game open. Four AU batters took advantage of a strong tailwind to hit home runs and Monmouth used six pitchers in an effort to stop the Spartans bats.

4/11/98 at Illinois College 4-6, 25-15 (6-9, 1-1)
Monmouth split its first Midwest Conference doubleheader of the season on the road. The Scots dropped a 6-4 decision in the opener as they were stifled on eight hits. A two-run Blueboy error allowed Monmouth to tie the game in the fourth inning but Brad Davis allowed a two-out, two-run single in the sixth and took the loss The Scots exacted their revenge in the nightcap, exploding for 25 runs on a team-record 24 hits, and claimed the victory in a 25-15 slugfest marred by a combined 17 errors. Nate Pokrass stroked two home runs, including a leadoff shot in the second inning which started a six-run flurry. Joel Fulgenzi hit a two-run double and later added a two-run single in the fifth in the midst of another nine-run outburst. Pokrass added his second roundtripper of the game and Charles Holloway connected for a two-run homer in the Scots' biggest inning of the season to date. After IC cut the lead to two at 17-15 Monmouth sealed the victory with eight runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Jay Turnbull and a bases-loaded three-RBI double by Tim Creeden. Fulgenzi and Pokrass each collected a season-high four RBI and Matt Carlson picked up his fourth win in four decisions on the mound.

4/14/98 at Illinois Wesleyan 2-13 (6-10)
The Monmouth College men’s baseball team took a break from its Midwest Conference schedule with a road game against non-conference rival Illinois Wesleyan and dropped a 13-2 decision to the Titans. The loss moves MC’s season record to 6-10. Wesleyan jumped on starter Mark Foulkes for 6 hits and 6 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Reliever Brandon Maxwell surrendered four runs in the Titan half of the fifth, including a three-run homer. Illinois Wesleyan pounded out a total of 12 hits, four doubles and two home runs, and made the most of seven Monmouth walks. Junior outfielder Jim Herget led off the Scot third with a single, advanced to third on a one-out single by Casey Boydstun and was knocked home by Dustin Salmon. Boydstun was credited with Monmouth’s second RBI when he drew a walk in the sixth to chase home designated hitter Tim Creeden after the Scots had loaded the bases on three singles.

4/18/98 at Grinnell 3-2, 13-6 and 4/19/98 Grinnell 13-4, 14-0 (10-10, 5-1)
Monmouth swept all four weekend games from MWC South rival Grinnell and jumped into first place in the division. The Scots squeaked out a 3-2 decision in the first game on Saturday and then pounded Grinnell for 40 runs in the remaining three contests. Brad Davis, Jay Turnbull, Matt Carlson (who went to 5-0 on the season) and Brandon Maxwell all picked up pitching victories for Monmouth. The Scots hit six home runs over the weekend and scored eight runs in an inning in each of their big wins. Maxwell turned in the best effort on the mound with a five-hit shutout on Sunday to complete the sweep.

4/23/98 at Knox 10-8 [11 inn], 2-1 [suspended after 7 inn] (11-10, 6-1)
The Scots won their sixth straight MWC conference game with an extra-inning victory over arch-rival Knox in Galesburg. Monmouth came back from a six-run deficit to tie the score in the first game and won in 11 innings on a two-out, two-run, pinch hit single by freshman David George. George's dramatic hit made a winner out of Brad Davis, who threw all 11 innings for his third victory of the season. In the nightcap Monmouth led 2-1 after seven innings when the game was called by the umpires. By conference rules the game must be nine innings and is considered a suspended game until completion. Sophomore Matt Carlson pitched a six-hitter as the Scots collected single runs in the second and fifth innings to hold the lead.

4/28/98 Illinois 3-1, 14-9 (13-10, 8-1)
Monmouth extended its MWC conference win streak to eight games with a doubleheader sweep of IC. The Scots avenged their only league loss of the spring season and clinched their 17th MWC South Division title in the past 20 years. Brad Davis won his fourth game of the season in the opener and DH Jay Turnbull's two-run single in the third stood up as the game winner. The Scots pounded out 14 hits and scored five runs in two separate innings to claim the nightcap. The first outburst came in the third and was highlighted by a two-run double by Scott Beeler. An RBI triple by Jim Herget and a grand-slam home run by Dustin Salmon in the eighth closed out the scoring and sealed the Scots' victory.

5/2/98 at MacMurray 2-4, 1-11 (13-12)
Monmouth stepped away from MWC action and dropped two on the road at MacMurray. The Scots suffered from a lack of offensive spark as the bats were silent for most of the day. Brandon Maxwell pitched a solid effort in the opener but took the loss. Sophomore Shawn Hickey was the top Scot at the plate, knocking in a pair of runs.

5/3/98 Knox 4-2, 5-7, 2-3 (14-14, 9-3)
The Scots began a long day of baseball against arch-rival Knox by winning the completion of a suspended game from April 23. Monmouth officially secured the South Division title with the victory. The Scots dropped both of the regularly scheduled games against the Prairie Fire as Knox came through with late-inning runs for the sweep. MC scored four runs in the first inning of the opener but could manage only one more the rest of the way and Knox scored three in the sixth to go along with four in the second inning. Sophomore Matt Carlson lost his first decision of the season in the nightcap as Monmouth could only muster five hits. The Scots could not get the clutch hit and left 15 men on base.

5/9/98 Carroll (MWC Tournament at Monmouth) 0-4 (14-15)
Monmouth hosted the Midwest Conference Tournament as a one-day event after rain washed out the Friday games. The Scots met North Division runner-up Carroll in the second semifinal and were shut out 4-0. Monmouth only collected five hits and never managed a serious threat after leadoff hitter Casey Boydstun was thrown out at home plate attempting to score on a fly ball in the bottom of the first inning. The Pioneers touched starter Brad Davis for four runs on seven hits, including a two-run homer in the fifth. Carroll advanced to the championship game, where they were beaten by North champion Ripon 11-1. Monmouth closed out the 1998 season at 14-15.

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