WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (Interstat) — The Monmouth Hawks erupted for 14 runs on 15 hits Thursday afternoon to defeat the North Carolina A&T Aggies 14-4 in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup at Monmouth Baseball Field. The Hawks improved to 28-20 overall and 13-12 in the CAA, while the Aggies dropped to 13-37 and 6-19.

Monmouth trailed 4-0 after the top of the second inning but stormed back with three runs in the third, three more in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and five in the seventh to put the game out of reach. The decisive moment came in the fourth inning when the Hawks erased the deficit and took the lead for good.

After North Carolina A&T took a 4-0 lead on a two-run home run by shortstop Reginald Tuggle in the second inning and a sacrifice fly by Nick DiCarlo, Monmouth began its comeback in the third. Center fielder Colin Richter led off with a double and scored on a double by first baseman Chris Walsh. After a hit batter, catcher Brendan Buecker doubled to right field to drive in two runs, cutting the lead to 4-3.

In the fourth, the Hawks sent eight batters to the plate and scored three runs to take a 6-4 lead. Aidan Bretschneider and RJ Mustaro singled before Richter bunted for a single to load the bases. Walsh then doubled to left center, scoring two runs and putting Monmouth ahead 5-4. Second baseman Wyatt Hunt followed with a groundout to second that scored Richter for a 6-4 advantage.

Monmouth never trailed again. The Hawks added two runs in the fifth on a double by shortstop Jimmy Bruno and a double by Bretschneider, then pushed across an unearned run in the sixth on a double by Simmi Whitehill. The game blew open in the seventh when Monmouth scored five runs on five hits, a walk and an error. Richter singled in two runs, Hunt singled in two more and Buecker drew a walk that forced in a run on a wild pitch.

Chris Walsh led the Monmouth offense, going 2 for 5 with a double and three runs batted in. Richter was 3 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Bruno also had three hits, going 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI and two stolen bases. Wyatt Hunt drove in three runs on a 1-for-4 day, and Buecker had three RBIs despite just one hit.

For North Carolina A&T, Tuggle provided the early spark with a 2-for-3 performance that included his home run and two RBIs. The Aggies managed eight hits but left six runners on base and committed three errors that led to three unearned runs.

Monmouth starting pitcher Ryan Mealy earned the win after allowing three earned runs on eight hits over five and two-thirds innings while striking out five. Kevin Opanel threw one and one-third hitless innings of relief with three strikeouts. Aggies starter Joshua Hauser took the loss, allowing seven earned runs on zero hits? in four and one-third innings with six strikeouts, but the official line was clouded by errors. Kobie Cushing yielded one earned run in one and two-thirds innings of relief.

The two teams continue their three-game series Friday and Saturday. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Monmouth 6, North Carolina A&T 2, and the Interstat ELO system gave the Hawks a 65.20 percent probability of winning.