Junior John Lenherr went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run but Virginia Commonwealth University suffered a 6-1 setback against Monmouth in game one of a three-game series Friday evening at The Diamond.
VCU has dropped three straight after defeating Fordham in its season opener on Feb. 18, while Monmouth picks up a win its first game of the 2011 campaign.
Eight different Rams collected a hit but VCU stranded 11 runners for the second game in a row.
The Hawks went on top 1-0 after their first trip to the plate as VCU committed its first of four errors on the night. Monmouth then went on top 3-0 when Cal Costanzo doubled and scored in the fourth.
VCU answered in the bottom of the frame when junior Brent Mikionis came home on an RBI-single by Lenherr, but it was the only time the Rams would score as Monmouth pushed its lead back to 4-1 in the top of the fifth. The Hawks went on to plate runs in each of the third through seventh innings to stake a 6-1 advantage.
Junior reliever Chris Shaklee tossed the final 3.0 innings for the Rams, allowing one unearned run on two hits with five strikeouts. VCU starter Seth Cutler-Voltz, who suffered his first loss of the season, surrendered five runs in 6.0 innings of work.
Monmouth starter Nick Meyers allowed one run on six hits, while picking up the win. The Hawks’ bullpen followed with four scoreless frames, including seven strikeouts.
Nick Pulsonetti went 3-for-5 with a run and Steve Sanguiliano finished 2-for-5 to pace Monmouth.
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