May 13, 2006 at MWC Baseball Championships, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 1, Grinnell 0
Ripon 7, Monmouth 3 (20-18)
For the second day in a row, the Fighting Scots were not able to defeat North Division champion Ripon, meaning the Red Hawks emerged with their third straight Midwest Conference crown. But as a consolation prize, the Scots won a thriller for the ages in the first game of the day to reach the title contest. Monmouth started Nate McCaherty against Grinnell, but the sophomore had to leave the mound after throwing a pitch in the bottom of the second. Coach Roger Sander turned to unheralded freshman Brian Chandler to take over, and all Chandler did was throw hitless relief until the seventh, when Grinnell got a leadoff single. The Pioneers added another hit in that inning and one more in the eighth, but they could not break through. Meanwhile, Monmouth was stymied for the second weekend in a row by Grinnell's Sam Eaton, and the teams entered the ninth inning tied at 0-0. The Scots went quietly in the top half of the frame, but Grinnell put runners on second and third with one out. Against a drawn-in infield, the Pioneers' Andrew Colver hit a grounder to second baseman Nate Palkovic, who threw home to strike down the winning run at the plate. The drama returned in the next inning, when the Pioneers' Kevin Byrne doubled to left with a runner on first. But Monmouth's relay to the plate from Jeremy Kafka to Ryan Priola to Josh Ragar again denied Grinnell's attempt to win the game. In the top of the 11th, the Scots scored an unearned run after two errors by the Pioneers' right fielder. Chandler finished off the win in the bottom of the frame and ended with a pitching line of 9.1 innings, seven hits, five strikeouts and a walk. Against Ripon, Monmouth took a 1-0 lead on Matt Gordon's first-inning RBI single, but the Red Hawks plated three runs in the second, including two on a single by Bo Johnson. Chris Smith's RBI single cut the lead to 3-2 in the fourth, but Monmouth could not get much going against Ripon's Jordan Baitinger, who won to improve to 8-1 on the year and send the Red Hawks into the national tournament with a record of 32-5.

May 12, 2006 at MWC Baseball Championships, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 4, St. Norbert 0
Ripon 6, Monmouth 3 (19-17)
A Dan Dunn shutout in the first game ensured that Monmouth's season will last at least another day but, after a loss to Ripon in the afternoon, the Fighting Scots will have to win three times Saturday if they hope to claim the Midwest Conference crown. Scoring chances came regularly for the Scots against the Red Hawks, as they put the leadoff runner on in seven of the first eight innings. They wound up stranding 13 runners for the game, including eight in scoring position. Ripon's Tyler Haddock struck the big blow of the game early, belting a two-run double to right-center in the third and scoring on Eric Schwendiman's single for a 3-0 lead. The Red Hawks extended their lead to 6-1 in the seventh as Monmouth committed three errors. But the Scots got a rally going in their half of the inning, receiving two-out RBI singles from Andrew Ogata and Ryan Stubler. The latter hit loaded the bases, but Ryan Priola flied out to left to end the inning. Dunn was dominant in the opener, and he got offensive support early, as the Scots posted three first-inning runs. Chris Smith and Priola both had RBI singles and Stubler drove in the other run with a sacrifice fly. Dunn scattered four hits and six walks in his complete-game performance while striking out nine.  

May 6, 2006 vs. Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
Grinnell 2, Monmouth 0
Monmouth 5, Grinnell 3 (18-16, 8-4)
Dramatically, the Fighting Scots clinched the South Division and will host the MWC Championships next weekend. Dan Dunn made one mistake in the opener, but it resulted in a two-run homer that stood up as the only scoring in the game. In the nightcap, there was another pitchers' duel, as Matt Engelhardt and Grinnell's Bow Brannon posted a string of goose eggs, with the exception coming on an RBI single by Monmouth's Nate Palkovic in the third. In the eighth inning, the Scots seemed to put the game out of reach against Grinnell's bullpen, as Chris Smith blasted a three-run homer. Palkovic made it 5-0 with another RBI single in the ninth. But Grinnell chased Engelhardt in the bottom of the ninth as the first three hitters reached. Scott Coles came on in relief and was not able to escape the jam until three runs had scored and the bases were loaded. Andrew Colver flied out to center field to end the game and give Monmouth home-field advantage in the four-team league playoffs May 12-13. In Dunn's first game gem, he allowed just the one hit while walking two and fanning four. Both runs were unearned, as a two-our error preceded the fourth-inning homer by Grinnell's Kevin Byrne.

May 2, 2006 vs. Knox College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 10, Knox 2
Knox 3, Monmouth 1 (17-15, 7-3)
The Fighting Scots hate to lose at home, but they could take solace in the fact that their Game One win clinched an MWC playoff berth, and they are still in the driver's seat to host the May 12-13 event. Monmouth took charge in the opening game as Dan Dunn scattered six hits. The Scots parlayed two walks, two sacrifices and two singles into two runs off starter Tim Pauley in the second inning, and Matt Gordon then made it four when he cleared the bases with a double. Gordon went 4-for-4 with four RBI and Jeremy Kafka added three of the Scots' 16 hits. Monmouth could have used some of that firepower in the nightcap, managing just six hits, all singles. The Prairie Fire plated two runs in the top of the ninth to pull out the split, tagging MC starter Matt Engelhardt with a hard-luck loss.

April 22, 2006 vs. Knox College, Galesburg, Ill.
Knox 5, Monmouth 4
Monmouth 11, Knox 3 (16-14, 6-2)
The Fighting Scots scored in seven of their nine at-bats in the nightcap to salvage a split against the host Prairie Fire. The No. 6 spot was especially strong for Monmouth, as Andrew Ogata was 2-for-4 with a homer, and pinch-hitter Matt Gordon rocked a solo blast. Jeremy Kafka and Jake Bice both had three hits apiece. Matt Engelhardt worked the first six innings to earn the win, and Nate McCaherty the last three to notch the save. The Fire were hit-or-miss against MC starter Dan Dunn in the opener. Dunn fanned 10 batters in just six innings of work, but Knox also got to him for nine hits, as all their runs were earned. The Fire batters who put the ball in play were 9-of-16, including three hits for leadoff batter Matt Briggs, who also scored three runs. He singled and scored the winning run on a two-run infield hit in the bottom of the sixth. In the top half of the frame, the Scots had rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead. A two-out, three-base error opened the floodgates and Kafka capped the scoring with a two-run single.

April 18, 2006 vs. Illinois Wesleyan University, Monmouth, Ill.
IWU 23, Monmouth 5 (15-13)
It isn't often -- maybe unprecedented -- that the wind blows straight out at Glasgow Field at a constant 20-plus miles per hour. The 23 runs the Titans scored WAS unprecedented in the seven-year history of Glasgow Field, and so was the six hits collected by IWU's Rob Cummings, who set a school record. The Titans posted crooked numbers in six of the game's seven innings and smashed six homers, including two apiece by Joe Howard and Ricky Angel. Howard finished the game 4-for-6 and Angel was 5-for-5. Both players drove in six runs, and so did Cummings, who was 6-for-6. Chris Smith had two hits and two RBI to lead Monmouth.

April 15, 2006 vs. Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill.
Monmouth 5, IC 4, 8 inn.
IC 11, Monmouth 9 (15-12, 5-1)
Drama surrounded the Fighting Scots and the Blueboys when they met at Monmouth's Glasgow Field one week ago and they repeated that drama Saturday with the Scots taking the opener in extra innings before the hosts rallied from a 7-1 deficit to win the nightcap. Monmouth took a 1-0 lead in the opener on a Matt Gordon homer. After IC tied the game, Gordon put the Scots back in front in the third, driving in Nate Palkovic, who had doubled. The Blueboys again tied the score, but the Scots looked to take charge in the seventh. Jason Salmon walked and Palkovic reached on an error. Ryan Priola put Monmouth ahead 3-2 when his single plated Salmon and Chris Smith added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly. IC, however, tied the game in the bottom of the inning on J.R. Groves' two-run homer off Scott Coles, who had come on to try to save Dan Dunn's win. Instead, Coles got the W, as Jeremy Kafka's single plated Josh Ragar to give the Scots a 5-4 lead in the eighth. Coles put the Blueboys down in order in the bottom of the inning. Monmouth came out firing in the nightcap, scoring seven runs in the first two frames. Ryan Stubler had hits in both innings and drove in two runs. But a grand slam by Derek Schrader put IC back in the game, and Schrader doubled and scored ahead of Noah Eckhouse's key two-run double in the seventh that put the Blueboys ahead 10-9. In the ninth inning, the game was called on account of rain and, two days later, it was ruled a complete game, handing the Scots their first conference loss of the season.

April 11, 2006 vs. Iowa Wesleyan College, Monmouth, Ill.
IWC 15, Monmouth 13 (14-11)
Eight home runs, 15 walks, five hit batters and five wild pitches added up to one wild game at Glasgow Field. Actually, the game returned to normal over the final three innings, as neither team scored. Monmouth's best chance to complete a comeback from a 10-run deficit came in the bottom of the seventh when there were two on and only one out. But Jeremy Kafka's line-out to second was turned into a rally-killing double play. Brian Chandler was impressive on the mound for the Scots, allowing just two singles in his three scoreless innings of relief. The craziness came early and included a pair of two-run homers for IWC in the top of the first. Monmouth answered with four runs of its own in the bottom of the frame, with two scoring on the first of Matt Gordon's two homers. The visitors struck back for eight runs in the top of the second to lead 12-4, but the Scots used an eight-run sixth to cut the deficit to 15-13. Gordon hit his second homer in the inning and Jason Salmon had a two-run single. Besides Gordon's 2-for-3 effort, Nate Palkovic had three hits and Chris Smith blasted a solo homer. Tim Messer was 3-for-4 with two homers for the Tigers and Andrew Barbaro, Josue Miranda and Aaron Campbell also homered. Chad Hand pitched the final two innings to get the save.

April 8, 2006 vs. Illinois College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 3, Illinois College 2
Monmouth 2, Illinois College 1, 10 inn. (14-10, 4-0)
Four Midwest Conference games, three one-run wins for the Fighting Scots. One week ago, Grinnell left town feeling it should have won both ends of a 2-1, 3-1 sweep, and Illinois College departed Glasgow Field with a similar feeling. In the opener, the Blueboys loaded the bases with no outs in both the second and third innings, but MC starter Dan Dunn nearly escaped the jams scot-free, allowing just one run when he hit a batter with two outs in the third. Dunn carried a 3-1 lead into the final frame but was chased from the contest when Trent Schauster hit a one-out double to put runners on first and second. Reliever Scott Coles surrendered a sacrifice fly, then got the final IC batter on a grounder to short. In the nightcap, passed balls by both teams led to runs, but the score stayed 1-1 from the top of the second through the end of the regulation nine innings. In IC's half of the 10th, the Blueboys had runners on first and third with no one out. The runners held following a short fly ball, but they were moving on a squeeze play. However, the bunt was popped up, and MC catcher Josh Ragar was able to turn it into an easy inning-ending double play. Nate Palkovic singled to right-center to start the Scots' 10th, and he moved up on Ryan Priola's sacrifice. Chris Smith then stroked a single to left, and third base coach Doug Winebright waved Palkovic home. A close play at the plate was brewing, but IC's left fielder failed to come up with the ball cleanly, and Smith had his second walk-off hit in a week. Nate McCaherty got the win, pitching the last 3-2/3 innings in relief of Matt Engelhardt. Shane Patton went the distance to take the hard-luck loss for IC. The Blueboys were led by Josh Leinberger, who was 6-for-8 on the day with four doubles. Monmouth's top hitter was Palkovic, who was 5-for-7. Priola, Ragar, Matt Gordon and Ryan Stubler all had three hits.

April 4, 2006 vs. MacMurray College, Jacksonville, Ill.
Monmouth 19, MacMurray 13 (12-10)
In the Fighting Scots' last six six games, they and their opponents have combined to score just 33 runs. In a rematch with the Highlanders, though, there were crooked numbers all over the scoreboard in a game that featured 32 runs, 37 hits and 11 errors. Some of those high totals, which also included 13 Monmouth runners left on base, did not sit well with coach Roger Sander, but he was pleased with the four-hit performances by Ryan Stubler and Jason Salmon, who had both been in slumps. Other multi-hit games came from Nate Palkovic and Chris Smith, who each had three hits, and Ryan Priola and Josh Ragar. Priola hit a home run, as did Josh Hall. Jeremy Kafka and Smith each drove in three runs as Monmouth took a 19-4 lead through four-and-a-half innings, scoring seven runs in the first and seven more in the third. 

April 1, 2006 vs. Grinnell College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 2, Grinnell 1, 8 inn.
Monmouth 3, Grinnell 1 (11-10, 2-0)
Two of baseball's most extreme rarities -- a pinch-hit, walk-off home run and an extra-inning no-hitter -- carried the Fighting Scots to victory in the opener, and a clutch three-run rally in their last at-bat lifted them to the conference-opening sweep. Senior righthander Dan Dunn was brilliant in the first game. He hit Grinnell's first batter, then retired the next nine hitters. Leading off the fourth, Dan Clark sliced a grounder to the right side that went under the glove of first baseman Josh Hall. Second baseman Kyle Gibbs also had a chance to make the play, but he, too, failed to handle the ball. The play was scored as an error on Hall. Peter Leo then hit a tailor-made double-play grounder to short, but the Scots again booted it, leaving runners on first and third. Leo Martin followed with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 Pioneer lead. That started a stretch where Dunn retired 14 of 15 batters, striking out half of them. The lone batter to reach base came on a fifth-inning walk. Meanwhile, Monmouth tied the game on Matt Gordon's RBI double in the sixth. With the score tied after the regulation seven innings, Dunn retired the side in the eighth. Chris Smith, who had not gotten the start after being late for a practice, got his first at-bat of the game to lead off the bottom of the eighth, and he promptly ended the contest with a towering homer to left. In the nightcap, Grinnell again struck first, and the Pioneers carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth. A hit batsman, a single and a sacrifice put runners on second and third, and Nate Palkovic's infield hit tied the game. He then stole second and came home on Ryan Priola's clutch two-out, two-run single. The victory went to Nate McCaherty, who allowed only one hit while pitching the final 3-2/3 innings.

March 29, 2006 vs. Eureka College, Eureka, Ill.
Monmouth 11, Eureka 2 (9-10)
Twenty Fighting Scots saw action in the win over the Red Devils, and Ryan Priola was the most involved, drilling a pair of home runs and finishing with five RBI. Chris Smith also belted a pair of solo blasts. Nick Allegretti got the win, but three other pitchers also threw well. Matt Douglas worked the first four frames and surrendered one run while striking out five, Brian Chandler threw a scoreless seventh and eighth and Scott Coles struck out the side in the ninth. Monmouth's 1-2 hitters, Jason Salmon and Matt Gordon, each had two doubles among their six combined hits. Jake Gustafson, Josh Ragar and Jeremy Kafka also had multi-hit games as the Scots finished with 18 hits.

March 25, 2006 vs. Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill.
Augustana 5, Monmouth 3
Augustana 2, Monmouth 0 (8-10)
Although the Fighting Scots kept pace with red-hot Augustana through five innings in both games, the 10-2 Vikings recorded a sweep to stretch their winning streak to seven games. In the opener, Monmouth plated two runs in the fourth and one more in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 3-3. Josh Ragar's two-out, two-run single was the key blow. But the Vikings struck back in the bottom of the fifth, as Bryan Phillips stroked an RBI triple and then scored an insurance run. Dan Dunn took the loss, giving up eight hits and four earned runs in six innings. In the nightcap, Matt Engelhardt and Augie's Andrew Setter were hooked up in a scoreless duel through five innings, but the hosts broke the tie in the sixth as they strung together three singles. Augustana added an unearned run in the eighth. Jeremy Kafka saw his first action of the year and got a hit in each game, and Andrew Ogata and Ragar also accomplished that feat. 

March 19, 2006 vs. Wisconsin Lutheran College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 0 (8-8)
Pitching took center stage as the Fighting Scots won the rubber game of their weekend series with the Warriors and reached the .500 mark for the first time this year. Starter Dan Dunn was brilliant, recording six strikeouts through two innings on his way to 12 Ks in his six innings of work. The only hit he allowed was a grounder in the hole to short, and just one Warrior reached second base. Dunn wasn't slated to go nine innings and, fortunately, the reliever coach Roger Sander chose to use was also very effective. Nick Allegretti did not record any strikeouts, but he set down nine of the 11 batters he faced, allowing a bloop infield hit over the mound and hitting a batter. He was credited with his first save, while Dunn improved to 3-1. The Scots did not generate a lot of offense, and Ryan Priola had the only RBI hit, delivering a third-inning single to make the score 2-0 and extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Matt Gordon, who scored on the play, was 2-for-2 and reached base four times.

March 18, 2006 vs. Wisconsin Lutheran College, Monmouth, Ill.
Wisconsin Lutheran 5, Monmouth 2
Monmouth 10, Wisconsin Lutheran 1 (7-8)
Ryan Priola's three-run homer got the Fighting Scots off to a great start in the second game and it was all Kevin Meinhart needed. The senior southpaw worked five-and-a-third innings, giving up just two hits and two walks and striking out four. Ryan Stubler was 3-for-3, scored three runs and drove in two. Monmouth tied the opener 2-2 on a two-out error in the bottom of the sixth, but the Scots' momentum was short-lived, as the Warriors plated three runs with two outs in the top of the seventh. Priola hit safely in both games to extend his hitting streak to 12, while Stubler's is now at 10. 

March 15, 2006 vs. MacMurray College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 9, MacMurray 3 (6-7)
The Fighting Scots led throughout but did not seal their fifth win in their last six games until scoring five runs in the bottom of the eighth. Josh Ragar started the rally with a double and moved to third on Jason Salmon's bunt single. Salmon then stole second and moved to third as Ragar beat the throw home on Nate Palkovic's grounder. Ryan Stubler then lined an RBI single for his third hit of the day. With two outs and runners on second and third, pinch-hitter Mark Allemang beat out a slow chopper to third. Both runners scored on the play, and B.J. Luxmore then roped an RBI double. Dan Dunn pitched the first five innings to get the win, and Matt Engelhardt retired all six batters he faced. In the eighth, MacMurray got within 4-3 and had a runner on second with two outs. Scott Coles came on to retire the next batter, and he pitched a hitless ninth to earn the save. Ryan Priola extended his hitting streak to 10 games and Stubler has now hit in eight straight. 

March 10, 2006 vs. William Paterson University, Chandler, Ariz.
Monmouth 6, William Paterson 3 (5-7)
The Fighting Scots may have started their spring break trip like a lamb, but they ended it like a lion, roaring to four wins in their last five games. The last one was a come-from-behind victory, as the Scots trailed 3-2 after seven innings. Andrew Ogata's RBI grounder tied the score in the eighth, and the Scots had the bases loaded with two outs in the 11th. Nate Palkovic was hit by a pitch to force home the go-ahead run and Ryan Stubler then provided some insurance with a two-run single. Starter Matt Engelhardt was solid on the mound in his six innings, allowing an unearned run and four hits, but the win went to reliever Nate McCaherty. Scott Coles came on with one out and two on in the bottom of the 11th and struck out both men he faced to earn the save. Chris Smith was 3-for-4 for the Scots and Ryan Priola extended his hitting streak to nine games.

March 9, 2006 vs. Lebanon Valley College, Phoenix, Ariz.
Lebanon Valley 5, Monmouth 1
Monmouth 24, Lebanon Valley 7 (4-7)
In the preseason, coach Roger Sander thought his Fighting Scots would be all about offense, 24/7. Eleven games into the season, he saw a concrete sign of it as Monmouth scored the most runs it had in a game since 1998. Andrew Ogata's bases-clearing double got Monmouth off to a great start in the top of the first, but LVC rallied to tie the game 4-4. Ryan Stubler snapped the tie with an RBI single in the second, and in the fourth inning the Scots sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs. Chris Smith had a pair of run-scoring hits in the frame, and Monmouth also posted crooked numbers in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Jason Salmon and Jake Bice each drove in four runs, and Nate Palkovic, Smith and Josh Ragar each collected three of the Scots' 23 hits. Kevin Meinhart went the distance for the win, and Ryan Schwartz blasted a home run. In the opener, Nick Allegretti had his second straight strong start, but the Scots' bats had not gotten going yet. Stubler's two-out RBI single in the third provided the only offense as Monmouth stranded nine baserunners.

March 8, 2006 vs. Coe College, Chandler, Ariz.
Monmouth 6, Coe 3
Monmouth 18, Coe 9 (3-6)
If the Fighting Scots are able to rebound from their disappointing start and have the type of season they're accustomed to, credit Chris Smith for providing the pivotal moment. The freshman launched a tie-breaking three-run homer in the top of the seventh and final inning in the first game of the doubleheader against the Kohawks. Monmouth went on to win easily in the nightcap thanks to Smith and Josh Hall, who combined for eight hits -- four of them doubles -- and nine RBI. Monmouth trailed 3-0 in the opener before tying the game in the fifth on an error, a sacrifice fly by Ryan Priola and Ryan Stubler's RBI double. In the seventh, an error and a hit by pitch set the stage for Smith's one-out, pinch-hit blast. Scots starter Dan Dunn got one out in the bottom of the frame, but he left after surrendering two hits. Matt Douglas retired both batters he faced to earn the save. Dunn yielded eight hits, two walks and one earned run while striking out eight. Drew Johnson earned the win in the nightcap, but the story was Monmouth's offense. The Scots scored four runs in the first, six in the second and two in the third, and they also had a five-run sixth. Smith was 4-for-4 with five RBI and Hall was 4-for-5 and drove in four. Jason Salmon, Nate Palkovic, Priola and Stubler also had multi-hit games.