WINTHROP — It doesn’t matter if you’re in the big leagues or playing Babe Ruth, or if the move makes perfect strategic sense. Watching the guy in front of you get intentionally walked feels like a personal attack.
Based on Wednesday’s body of work, leading by a run with two out and first base open in the sixth inning, Monmouth decided that pitching to Winthrop’s Tyler Foster was a safer decision than dealing with Tyler Reeve.
So much for being the lesser of two Tylers. Foster’s hit tied the game and chased starter Kyle Fletcher. Ben Allen’s two-run single greeted reliever Josh Fournier and provided the deciding margin in the Ramblers’ 10-8 MVC victory.
“I knew I needed to get a hit,” Foster said. “We were filling the bases. We knew we still come around, string a couple of hits together and get a couple of runs across.”
Winthrop was down 6-1 before rallying for four runs in the third inning and trailed 8-5 prior to its five-run flourish in the sixth.
Reeve ripped a double in the first and a single in the third, but Foster also had a hit and scored a run during the Ramblers’ early big inning.
“He should have been upset that (Reeve) got walked to face him,” Winthrop coach Marc Fortin said. “They’re both seniors. He got a hit before. He’s what, 6-foot-3, big, strong kid, four-year player? I’d put my money on Tyler Foster any day.”
The free pass to Reeve was the least of Monmouth’s gifts to its Route 202 neighbors. The Mustangs made six errors, including three in the fateful sixth.
“You can’t give anybody 26 outs, 27 outs, 28 outs,” Monmouth coach Eric Palleschi said.
Allen (3-for-4, 3 RBIs) also picked up the victory for Winthrop (3-1) with three innings of relief. The freshman with the unorthodox delivery and looping curve backed up Foster, limiting Monmouth to two runs on two hits.
His off-speed material made closer Reeve’s heater look like it was traveling 100 mph in the seventh. Reeve fanned Alex Curtis, Nate Gagne and Lane Burnham in quick succession to end it.
“Since we came back, this win meant more,” Reeve said. “If we had been ahead the whole time it wouldn’t have meant as much. It definitely brought us together as a team.”
Billy Cummings’ sacrifice fly for Monmouth and Allen’s RBI single represented an exchange of runs in the first.
Monmouth (1-3) erupted for five in the third on the strength of Devin West’s one-out walk and consecutive singles from Fletcher, Fournier, Cummings, Curtis and Gagne.
Jared Hanson beat out an infield single to ignite Winthrop in the bottom of that frame. Fletcher caught Drew Stratton looking for the second out before Reeve’s triple to the gap in left center. Reeve raced home when the Mustangs bobbled the relay.
“I was leaving the ball too much over the plate. We were trying to work inside,” Fletcher said. “I don’t know if we lost focus or got too comfortable, and they crawled back into it.”
Foster, Allen, Mario Meucci and Connor Doyle singled in succession to make it 6-5.
Fletcher (4-for-4) singled to drive in Scott Peacock in the fourth inning and again to plate pinch runner Brandon Goff after Peacock (2-for-3) singled to lead off the sixth.
In addition to retiring three Ramblers with his pickoff move, the sophomore southpaw struck out three and issued only one walk before the intentional pass of Reeve.
Winthrop started four freshmen, including three-quarters of its infield.
“They’re fitting in pretty well,” Fortin said. “Granted, we haven’t played the big dogs of the league yet. I think it‘s St. Dom‘s and Dirigo, and then pretty much everybody can beat everybody else depending on the day and who‘s pitching.”
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