The Monmouth College baseball team picked up their first win of the season on Sunday, holding on for an 8-7 victory over Thiel College. The Fighting Scots (1-7) put 10 hits on the board from seven different players to knock off the Comets (0-5).

"A team win today and much needed for us," said head coach Alan Betourne. "We were able to cash in today with runners in scoring position and there's a lot for us to build on."

The Scots left a runner at second base in the second inning and Thiel took the lead against Brandon Coats (Mapleton, Illinois) in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff hit batter and two singles put the Tomcats on top 1-0 before they left two in scoring position.

The Tomcats added two more in the third, spurred by a leadoff walk. After a passed ball, single and hit batter loaded the bases, two groundouts scored runs for a 3-0 lead. 

Jacob Blunck (Forsyth, Illinois) singled with one out in the fourth and Jace Wilkerson (East Peoria, Illinois) also singled to right to put two on. Cade Farquer (Williamsfield, Illinois) delivered his first career double and RBI as both runners scored on a ball in the right-center gap. Gabriel Zeigler-Harris (East Peoria, Illinois) reached on an error with two outs and moved up on a wild pitch to put two in scoring position.Aidan Parkins (Monmouth, Illinois) came through with a clutch hit and put the Scots on top 4-3 with a 2-run single to left. 

Thiel left the bases loaded in the fifth and the Scots quickly extended the lead. Wilkerson reached on a throwing error and scored from second on Farquer's second double of the game. Jon-Marc Torrez (San Angelo, Texas) bunted Farquer to third and Zeigler-Harris walked. Zeigler-Harris stole second and Parkins delivered again with a single up the middle to score two for a 7-3 lead. Eric Campen (Washington, Illinois) singled and after a double steal, Aiden Scott (Carrollton, Texas) singled home a run for an 8-3 lead. 

Coats hit a batter to start the sixth and after a one-out single he gave way to Owen Alford (Hopedale, Illinois). Another hit batter loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly cut the Monmouth lead to 8-4. 

A walk, hit batter and single loaded the bases for Thiel in the seventh. A double plated two and put the tying run in scoring position with nobody out. Caleb Ochs (Royal, Illinois) came out of the bullpen and a sacrifice fly pulled the Tomcats within one. 

"Coats was strong early and we got him out of a jam later," said Betourne. "Ochs and Ryan got it done at the end in some high stress situations."

Clayton Matkovic (Sherrard, Illinois) doubled in the eighth to put two in scoring position but the Scots couldn't add on. Zeigler-Harris made a diving catch in the bottom of the eighth and Ochs stranded a pair to get the score at 8-7. 

Ryan Garofoli (Chicago, Illinois) took over on the mound in the ninth. A one-out walk and single put the tying and winning runs on base. Garofoli got a strikeout for the second out before a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. A flyout to center ended the game with the Scots winning 8-7. 

Coats (1-1) earned the win, allowing four runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings while striking out two and hitting six. Alford allowed three runs on two hits with one walk and two hit batters in 2/3 of an inning. Ochs threw two shutout innings with one hit allowed and one walk issued. Garofoli picked up his first career save with a scoreless inning as he allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one. 

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Farquer had a hit in Florida last year and delivered his first career RBI in his second career start…He finished with three RBI and two doubles…Parkins had his first multi-RBI game of the season…He also drove in four runs on April 18, 2025 against Cornell …Parkins, Farquer and Matkovic all had two hits…Matkovic has five multi-hit games on the season while Parkins has four…Zeigler-Harris stole his first base of the season and a double steal by Parkins and Campen makes the Scots 7-for-7 as a team on the year…Parkins has 12 career stolen bases…Matkovic has 20 career doubles…Torrez took over behind the plate in the second inning and made his first carer plate appearance, finishing with a walk and a sacrifice bunt in four trips to the plate…Monmouth pitching last hit eight batters in a game in 2023 at Augustana…Coats hit four batters all of last season before hitting six on Sunday…The teams last met in 2023, a 3-1 Monmouth win…The teams also played in Florida in 2011, 2012 and 2015 with the Scots holding a 4-1 advantage…Monmouth plays a double header against Kenyon College at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT on Monday…After nine games in Florida for spring break, the Scots play the home opener on Monday, March 16 against Maranatha Baptist.