LIVINGSTON MANOR – The Rockland Wolves hosted the Monticello Panthers last Friday for a baseball game on a warm spring evening leading into the weekend. The Wolves couldn’t secure the home field win against the Panthers who shut out Rockland 17-0. It was a tough loss for Rockland and their second shutout loss of the season. 

Rockland Coach Dylan Smith commented this after the game, “There’s definitely work that needs to be done. The seasons still early so definitely not putting our heads down. We have a tournament coming up, so we are looking forward to that.” 

Monticello wasted no time taking control, erupting for 10 runs over the first three innings and adding another in the fourth to build an 11–0 lead over Rockland. Leading the offensive charge for Monticello was Owen Mann, who went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and two RBIs, while Niccolo Lentini matched him with three hits and drove in a game-high four runs. On the mound, Nicholas Soemann set the tone early, striking out six and allowing just only one hit in the game, helping Monticello cruise through the complete control on both sides of the ball. The middle 4th and 5th innings were rather uneventful with the Panthers sealing the game early on with such a dominant start. 

The final inning started with a few walks followed by a single from Lentini that brought one runner home to make it 12-0 with bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth. It wasn’t long before Monticello chipped away the final few runs needed to activate the 15-point mercy rule in the fifth inning. 

Monticello Coach Rick Vreeland commented this after the win, “Great game overall, we pitched well and hit well. Great team win, and we’re looking forward to the tournament this weekend.”