TOWSON, Md. (Interstat) — Alec Couture delivered a dominant performance on the mound and Sam Saucke provided a crucial late-inning blast as the Monmouth Hawks defeated the Towson Tigers 4-1 in Colonial Athletic Association baseball action Saturday evening at John B. Schuerholz Baseball Complex.

The game, a tightly contested pitcher’s duel for six innings, turned decisively in the top of the seventh. With two outs and Colin Richter on first after a walk, Saucke connected on a two-run home run to left-center field off Towson reliever Ryder Jeske. The shot broke open a one-run game, providing critical insurance runs.

Couture, named the top star for Monmouth, was brilliant in his five-inning start to earn the win. He allowed just one earned run on no hits, striking out five and walking two. The lone blemish was a second-inning run that scored without a hit, aided by a walk, a stolen base and an RBI single from Towson’s Nick LoBello. This outing marked a stark turnaround for Couture, who in his previous start on Feb. 28 against Maryland-Baltimore County allowed five earned runs without recording a hit over five innings.

The Hawks’ bullpen preserved the lead with flawless relief. Austin Beard followed Couture with three hitless innings, striking out three, and David Horvath pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the victory.

Towson starter Liam Diehl took the loss despite a solid effort, surrendering two earned runs on four hits over five innings while striking out five. Jeske, in relief, struck out six over four innings but was tagged for the decisive home run by Saucke.

Both teams managed five hits in the game. Monmouth’s offense was opportunistic, scoring once in the third inning on a fielder’s choice by Saucke that plated Richter, who had tripled. The Hawks added their final two runs on Saucke’s seventh-inning homer.

Towson’s offense struggled to string hits together after the second inning. The Tigers put the tying run on deck in the bottom of the ninth after a single and an error, but Horvath induced a flyout to right field to end the threat.

The most important part of the game was Saucke’s two-out, two-run homer in the seventh. With Monmouth clinging to a 2-1 lead and Jeske striking out batters at a high rate, the shortstop’s blast provided a pivotal three-run cushion that allowed the Hawks’ bullpen to work with greater margin for error against a Towson lineup that had been held hitless since the second inning.

With the win, Monmouth evened the weekend series and improved its season record to 4-7. Towson fell to 5-6. The victory defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 5-2 Towson win, though the organization’s ELO rating system had given Monmouth a 59.8% probability to win.

The two teams conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon.