Baseball Beats Monmouth in Walk-Off Fashion, 6-5
Princeton, N.J. — Princeton defeated Monmouth in dramatic fashion this afternoon as a Noah Granet walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth gave the Tigers a 6-5 victory against the Hawks.
The game-winning hit was Granet’s first hit of the afternoon. He walked twice and contributed a run scored.
FINAL: Princeton 6, Monmouth 5
WALK IT OFF @SAID_NOAH_1_EVA!!!
TIGERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/WPVjpersop
— Princeton Baseball (@PUTigerBaseball) May 4, 2022
On the mound, the win went to Jackson Emus after retiring the Hawks in order in the top of the ninth. His fellow weekend starter, Tom Chmielewski, had an inning of relief in the top of the eighth and struck out all three of the Monmouth batters he faced.
Reece Rabin earned his third start of the season and impressed once again with 4.0 innings pitched, two strikeouts, and one run allowed.
Matt Scannell, Princeton’s leader in RBI, added to his tally this afternoon. A bases-clearing, three-run double has him at 42 on the season.
Eric Marasheski also contributed a couple RBIs this afternoon. He’s up to 11 on the season following a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Brendan Cumming, Princeton’s leading hitter, continued to impress at the dish. He went 3-for-5 with a pair of singles against the Hawks.
How it Happened
After three strong innings from Rabin, Monmouth struck first with a solo home run to left field in the top of the fourth.
Princeton responded in the bottom of the frame. With two outs and a pair of runners in scoring position, Marasheski hit a two-run single into right field to give Princeton a 2-1 lead.
Monmouth tied it in the top of the fifth on a sac fly, but once again Princeton punched back to take the lead. A leadoff single by Cumming, a walk drawn by Noah Granet, and a bunt single by Nadir Lewis stuffed the bags. Then, Scannell cleared them with a three-run double down the right-field line to give Princeton a 5-2 lead through five innings.
Send ’em all home! ??@mattscannell7 pulls a bases-clearing double down the right-field line to restore Princeton’s lead!
Princeton 5, Monmouth 2 | Bottom 5 pic.twitter.com/dqkOJu3zVf
— Princeton Baseball (@PUTigerBaseball) May 4, 2022
Unfortunately, the lead would not last long. A three-run homer in the top of the sixth tied the game at 5-5.
The Tigers used three pitchers for the final three innings, and in those combined 3.0 innings, only one Monmouth batter reached base—a two-out walk drawn in the top of the seventh. Caden MacDonald pitched a clean seventh frame, while Chmielewski and Emus retired Monmouth in order in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
It felt like the walk-off hit was imminent the moment the bottom of the ninth began. Marasheski led off with a single on the half-inning’s first pitch. Jordan Kelly followed up with a walk drawn on a seven-pitch at-bat, and a single from Cumming loaded the bags with no outs.
Granet quickly ended this one with a line drive down the left-field line to bring home Marasheski and end Princeton’s non-conference slate with a 6-5 victory.
