MONMOUTH, ILL. (04/18/2021) Records fell all over the place as the Monmouth College baseball team split a double header at Grinnell winning 10-3 and losing 16-13. Mike Dato (Oswego, Illinois) hit three homers and drove in eight, both tying single-game school records, in the nightcap after Shamus Murphy (Milan, Illinois) tied the single-season and career grand slams record in the opener. The Scots are now 8-4 on the season, 6-2 in Midwest Conference play.
“It was a decent day of baseball,” said coach Alan Betourne.”I’m really happy for Dato and Murphy, two hard workers that love playing. That home record has stood for a long time and I’m lucky enough to have played with Taylor (Thiel) and now coach Mike”
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth the Scots took the lead for good, using the long ball. Murphy hit his first of the day with a two-run shot after Alec Lyle (Farmer City, Illinois) tripled. Monmouth left the bases loaded but led 2-1 after four innings.
In the fifth Justin Bost (Reynolds, Illinois) led off with his first homer of the season for a 3-1 lead. Lyle was hit by a pitch and Jake Brewer (Gibson City, Illinois) tripled for a 4-1 Scots lead. Two batters later Brewer scored on a passed ball for a 5-1 lead.
Grinnell scored on a wild pitch by starting pitcher Addison Fletcher (Monmouth, Illinois) in the sixth and added a solo homer in the seventh.
The Scots put the game out of reach in the eighth, again using the home run. Sean Davis (Barrington, Illinois) walked with one out and Lyle walked with two down. Grant Powers (Keller, Texas) pinch-hit and drew a walk to load the bases. Murphy launched his second grand slam of the season and second homer of the game to give the Scots a 9-3 lead.
Monmouth picked up the final run of the game in the ninth. Logan Komater (Ottawa, Illinois) singled and Dato walked. Davis singled to load the bases and Bost singled home Komater for a 10-3 lead.
Fletcher (3-0) picked up the win in the opener allowing three runs on seven hits over seven innings. He struck out five and did not issue a walk. A.J. Hatlestad (New Windsor, Illinois) threw the final two innings with two hits allowed and two strikeouts.
The Scots took the lead in game two in the top of the second. Jackson Van Iwaarden (Ballwin, Missouri) walked and moved to second on an error. With two outs he scored on a single by Anthony Ruggles (Aledo, Illinois) as Monmouth went on top 1-0. Jordan Ball (Moscow Mills, Missouri) doubled home Ruggles and Matt Temaner (Gurnee, Illinois) made it 3-0 with a single to right.
Monmouth led 3-1 in the third when Komater walked to start the inning. Dato launched his second homer of the season to left field to put the Scots on top 5-1.
The Pioneers scored once in the third and flipped the game with five runs in the fifth. Nathan Willig (Oswego, Illinois) started the inning with two runs scoring on a double and another on an error. Grinnell tied the game with a single to right and Cal Engebretson (Knoxville, Illinois) took over on the mound with two outs. A hit batter loaded the bases and a single scored two as Grinnell took a 7-5 lead.
The Scots regained the lead in the sixth on a two-out rally. Temaner singled and stole second before Komater was hit by a pitch. Dato launched his second homer of the game and put the Scots back on top 8-7.
The Pioneers came right back in the bottom of the inning as they loaded the bases on a walk, single and hit batter. A three-run double put the hosts on top 10-8 and two more hits gave them a 12-8 before they lost a runner on the bases and left two on.
Van Iwaarden walked with one out in the seventh and with two down, Ruggles tripled to get the Scots within 12-9. A flyout ended the inning with Ruggles left at third base.
Temaner led off the eighth with a solo homer to left, his first of the season. With one out Dato was hit by a pitch to bring the tying run to the plate. Davis walked and Grinnell changed pitchers with Bost due up. Bost reached on an infield single to load the bases but a strikeout and flyout left the bases loaded with the Scots down two.
Grinnell scored four in the eighth inning to go on top 16-10. The big blow was a three-run homer with one out.
The Scots saw history in the ninth, but fell short. With one out Ball doubled and with two down Komater homered. Dato put his name in the record book with his third homer of the day, a three-run shot to left, as Monmouth cut the lead to 16-13. Davis and Bost both singled to bring the tying run to the plate but a strikeout ended the game
“Game two was there but we made some mistakes on the field and didn’t produce in certain situations,” Said coach Betourne. “Our hitters did a good job of putting barrels on balls, finding gaps and some went over the fence. Our pitchers held us in both games but we couldn’t make plays behind them. Another game given away.”
MONMOUTH MOMENTS:
Dato tied the single-game home run record of three and also tied the career record of 18. He also tied the single-game RBI record of eight set by Mike McNeieve on April 20, 1990, also against Grinnell. The 3-homer game is the fifth in school history and the first since March 8, 2002. Taylor Thiel hit 18 home runs from 1999-2002 and Craig Foxall also hit 18 from 1993-96. Dato also moved into a tied for 6th on the Monmouth career RBI list with 98, tying him with Michael Blaesing (1993-96) and Lamar Rudd (1991-94)Dato previously hit two homers on April 26, 2018 at Illinois College and April 20, 2019 at Cornell. His previous career-high for RBI was four on March 4, 2019 at Muskingum. Dato has been hit by nine pitches this season and a career-record 27 in his time at Monmouth. He was also hit nine times in 2019 and the single season record is 11. He also moved into the top 15 with 200 career total bases and into the top 20 on the career hits list with 120.
All nine starters had at least one hit in game one while six players had two hits.
Temaner’s only other Scots home run came on March, 23 2019 against Aurora.
Murphy is the second player in Monmouth history to hit two grand slams in a season or a career, joining Doug Devine who also hit two back in 1979.
Monmouth scored 48 runs in four games this week.
The Scots are next in action on Tuesday with a noon double header at home against Cornell College.
