The Monmouth College baseball team started their Florida trip with a pair of wins on Saturday. The Fighting Scots (3-3) defeated the University of Northwestern (Minn.) 8-3 and 5-4 to start a 9-game trip.
Daniel Lummus (New Port Richey, Florida) led off the bottom of the first with a walk and Eric Campen (Washington, Illinois) was hit by a pitch. Clayton Matkovic (Sherrard, Illinois) was hit by a pitch and Raul Guillermo (Miami, Florida) gave the Scots a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to right. Alexander Dye (Albuquerque, New Mexico) singled to drive in Campen for a 2-0 lead.
Campen led off the third with a triple to right but was thrown out trying to score on an overthrow by the Eagles. Matkovic singled to left and scored on a triple by Guillermo for a 3-0 Monmouth lead. Dye made it 4-0 with a single and Reid Stufflebeem (Galesburg, Illinois) walked with two outs. Aidan Parkins (Monmouth, Illinois) walked and Aiden Scott (Carrollton, Texas) walked to bring home Dye for a 5-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Ethan Zaayenga (Tremont, Illinois) kept the Eagles off the board for the first three innings. They plated two runs with a single, hit batter, flyout and single in the fourth. Zaayenga got a strikeout to end the inning and stranded two Eagles in the fifth.
Dye walked to start the fifth and Nate Reed (Chenoa, Illinois) reached on a fielders' choice to second. Stufflebeem reached on an error as Reed moved to third but the Scots left runners on the corners.
The Eagles got one back in the sixth. A leadoff error and two groundouts put a runner on third with two down. A single to left cut the Monmouth lead to 5-3
Monmouth answered in a big way in their half of the sixth. Lummus singled to right before Campen was hit by a pitch and replaced by pinch-runner Jonas Buckles (Albuquerque, New Mexico). Matkovic sacrificed and Guillermo launched a 3-run homer to left-center for an 8-3 Monmouth lead.
Zaayenga (1-1) earned the win as he struck out six batters and allowed two earned runs over six innings. Nick Villa (El Segundo, California) allowed one run on two hits in the seventh in a non-save situation.
GAME TWO
Starting pitcher Toby Turnquist (Monmouth, Illinois) gave up a run in the top of the first on a triple and sacrifice fly. The Eagles made it 2-0 in the third with a bases loaded sacrifice fly.
Monmouth pulled even in the third. Scott led off with a single, Lummus walked and Campen beat out a bunt for a single. After a fielders' choice erased Scott at the plate and put Matkovic on base, Guillermo doubled off the wall in left for a 2-2 tie. Reed walked with two outs and Matkovic scored on a wild pitch for a 3-2 lead. Parkins singled to right to bring home Guillermo and Reed for a 5-2 lead.
Turnquist kept the Eagles off the board in the next three innings without allowing a runner past first base. Scott and Campen turned a spectacular double play to end the fifth inning and Buckles ended the sixth with a line drive double play at second base.
The Eagles put two runners on base in the seventh with one out. Owen Wolfe (Galesburg, Illinois) took over for Turnquist and got an out before allowing a RBI single to center. The Eagles cut the lead to 5-4 on an error but the tying run was tagged out by Parkins between second and third to end the game.
Turnquist (1-1) earned the win with a season-best 6 innings with four strikeouts and three earned runs allowed. Wolfe picked up his first save of the season with a strikeout in of an inning.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Guillermo moved into a tie for fourth on the career home runs list with his 3-run shot in game one ... He has 17 homers, tied with Grant Myers (2015-18), Joe Larkins (1999-02), Lamar Rudd (1991-93), Chris Wheat (1987-90) and Rich Well (1981-85) ... With five RBI in game one and two in game two, he now has 103 on his career, moving past Michael Blaesing (1993-96) and Rudd for sixth-most in MC history ... With 29 career doubles, he moved into a tie for 12th with Harry Sanchez (2016-19), Austin Hardy (2014-17) and Steve Glasgow (1999-02) ... Lummus played in his 100th career game in the opener ... He has a hit in all six games this season ... Zaayenga has at least five strikeouts in all three starts this season ... He threw a season-best six innings and struck out a season-high six ... Zaayenga is now 3-0 in Florida in his career in two starts and one relief outing ... Turnquist had a season-high 6 innings, the longest outing by a Monmouth pitcher in 2025 ... Wolfe has three career saves, all in Florida, and two are against Northwestern ... The Scots are 3-2 all-time against the Eagles with meetings at the same complex in 2023 and 2024 ... Monmouth plays a double header on Sunday against United States Merchant Marine Academy ... Game one starts at 1:00 p.m. ET.
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