MONMOUTH — Winthrop made Monmouth pay for six errors and picked up an important win, 15-5, in six innings at Chick Field Tuesday.
Matt Ingram led Winthrop’s nine-hit attack with two hits, including a double, two runs batted in and three runs scored. Carson Camick added two hits, scored twice and drove in three.
“All through the order we’ve been hitting the ball,” said Ingram, a senior catcher. “We got the bats going once we saw (Monmouth’s mistakes) and we just kept going.”
Both teams are 9-6 with one game left to play in the regular season. But the Ramblers, who beat the Mustangs, 3-1, earlier in the month, opened up some space between themselves and Monmouth and also leapfrogged Hall-Dale into second place in the C South Heals.
Two Mustang errors, four walks and two wild pitches provided more than enough help for the Ramblers’ eight-run second inning. Ingram, Camick and Jacob Hickey delivered the big hits — a two-run double for Ingram and two-run singles for Camick and Hickey.
“After the first inning (where the Ramblers went down in order), I thought we were coming out and playing well. And then once it started going bad, kids were hanging their heads,” Monmouth coach Eric Palleschi said. “They jumped on us and took advantage of it.”
“We got some nice base hits, some key base hits taking advantage of our opportunities,” Winthrop coach Marc Fortin said.
Two more errors and a wild pitch allowed the Ramblers to add a run in the third. Monmouth’s final two miscues led to a five-run fourth.
Winthrop starter Jacob Hickey allowed just one run through the first three innings, and that run was more a product of some fancy footwork by Mat Foulke at home plate that allowed him to avoid a tag by Ingram.
“Jake was doing great,” Ingram said. “He was hitting his corners. He was throwing fastballs, change-ups and curves and he was hitting his spots.”
“Jacob looked good until that fifth inning,” Fortin said. “He was throwing strikes. He was getting ahead. His little curve ball was working, getting guys off-balance. For him, it’s hitting spots because he doesn’t have a lot of pitches to select from.”
The Mustangs scored four in the fifth to delay being mercy ruled. Hunter Richardson had a two-run single and Travis Hartford an RBI single to make it 14-5.
After the Ramblers got a run back in the sixth, Hickey settled back into a groove in the top of the frame, setting the Mustangs down in order to end it.
Hickey allowed seven hits and walked two while striking out two.
Richardson and Foulke led Monmouth with two hits apiece.
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