By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Hudsen Hagland tossed six-plus innings of shutout ball in a 2-0 victory, and the Monroe Community College Tribunes earned a doubleheader split with the Finger Lakes Community College Lakers in NJCAA action, Tuesday.
Hagland struck out seven, walked one and improved to 3-2 on the season. After allowing a single through the right side of the infield to lead off the game, the right-hander retired 13 in a row setting down eight over that stretch on ground balls.
The Charlestown, New Hampshire native, who struggled in a pair of recent outings, won for the first time since March 28. He surrendered a one-out infield single in the fifth and responded with a pair of punch outs to end the inning.
Hagland allowed a one-out walk followed by a base hit in the seventh.
Monroe got all the runs it needed in the second inning when Andrew Czubaj plated Jake Hewitt with a single through the right side of the infield.
Johnny Ricotta started the stanza with a double to left field. Hewitt reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second. Nick Rubino walked, and Czubaj followed with his third RBI in the past four games.
Monroe added a run in the fifth. Alex Canty beat out an infield single, stole a pair of bases and scored on a Ricotta sacrifice fly. The RBI was the second of the day for Ricotta who has plated 51 runs this season. The sophomore first baseman collected three hits and a walk on the day.
Rubino came on in the seventh with runners on second and third. The right-hander retired the only two batters he faced for his first save of the season.
Nick Ferrino highlighted a seven-run third with a bases-clearing triple, and FLCC took the opener, 8-4. Stephen Fredendall allowed two runs on seven hits over five innings for the win.
Ricotta singled home a run in the first, and Hewitt plated Czubaj with a triple in the second to give the Tribs a 2-1 edge.
But the Lakers sent 11 to the plate in the decisive third. Trevor Bradshaw sparked the inning with a double. Cory Valentine and Mike Magnanti supplied RBI base hits as Finger Lakes took an 8-2 advantage.
Connor Hurst came out of the bullpen for Monroe to get the final out of the third. The left-hander tossed four scoreless innings from there setting down 10 straight at one point until surrendering a two-out base hit in the seventh. The left-hander struck out five, allowed two hits and walked none in his best outing of the season.
Monroe scratched across two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Hewitt reached with one out on a hit by pitch. Justin Bunting rapped a pinch-hit single. After a balk moved the runners 90 feet, Jonathan Catapano singled through the left side to drive in his first run of the season. Canty followed with an RBI sacrifice fly.
Monroe played errorless ball in the nightcap with Bunting, Canty and Frankie Pizzo all turning in spectacular plays in the infield.
Monroe is 16-22 on the season.
The same two teams will meet Thursday. A 2 p.m. first pitch is scheduled at FLCC.
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