WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (Interstat) — The Monmouth Hawks broke open a tie game with a five-run eighth inning to defeat the Lafayette Leopards 6-1 in nonconference baseball Tuesday evening at Monmouth Baseball Field.

The game was a pitchers’ duel for seven innings before the Hawks’ offense erupted against the Leopards’ bullpen. The win improved Monmouth to 11-10 on the season, while Lafayette fell to 2-17.

Monmouth starter Drew Yagodzinskie delivered the top performance, earning the win with six strong innings. He allowed one earned run on seven hits, striking out six and walking one. This outing provided a needed rebound for the right-hander, who had struggled in his two previous appearances, allowing nine earned runs over 4 1/3 combined innings.

Lafayette struck first in the opening inning. Matt Colella singled with one out and later scored on a two-out error by Monmouth first baseman Kevin Fedoruk, giving the Leopards an early 1-0 lead.

That unearned run was all Yagodzinskie would allow. He worked around traffic, stranding two Leopards in both the second and sixth innings. His offense, meanwhile, was stymied by a parade of Lafayette relievers. Seven Leopards pitchers combined to hold Monmouth to just three hits through the first seven innings.

Monmouth finally broke through to tie the game in the fifth. Will Fahey singled, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Chris Walsh off Lafayette reliever Pat Walega, making it 1-1.

The game remained deadlocked into the bottom of the eighth, setting the stage for the decisive rally. Facing Lafayette’s Chase Rodgers and Antonio Correa, the Hawks sent 10 men to the plate. The inning was fueled by patience and timely hitting. With one out and the bases loaded, Walsh drew a walk to force in Fedoruk and give Monmouth its first lead at 2-1.

The next batter, Simmi Whitehill, delivered the key blow, lacing a two-run single through the right side to score Colin Richter and Wyatt Hunt. After a stolen base, RJ Mustaro capped the outburst with a two-run single to left, scoring Whitehill and Walsh to extend the lead to 6-1.

Lafayette’s bullpen, which had been excellent early, faltered in the frame. Owen Basso, Alex Payne, Braden Pomponi, James Reese, Wesley Maksimow and Ben Waterman had all posted scoreless outings to keep the game tied. Monmouth’s Nick Tamburro and Stefan Swee preserved the lead with two perfect innings of relief to close it out.

Both teams finished with eight hits. For Lafayette, Colella, Bode Fernsler and Will Dobil each had two hits, with Dobil driving in the Leopards’ only RBI. Fedoruk led Monmouth with two doubles.

The most important part of the game was unquestionably the bottom of the eighth inning. After seven innings of offensive frustration, Monmouth transformed a tense 1-1 tie into a comfortable five-run lead by leveraging walks and clutch two-out hitting. The sequence, highlighted by Whitehill’s two-run single and Mustaro’s follow-up two-run hit, demonstrated a decisive offensive execution that had been lacking for much of the afternoon and evening.

The game was a contrast in season trajectories. Monmouth moved above .500, while Lafayette’s difficult season continued despite a valiant pitching effort for most of the contest.

Lafayette is scheduled to play at Villanova later Tuesday night. Monmouth travels to open a series at Elon on Friday.