Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 GRINNELL, Iowa – The Grinnell College baseball team lost a pair of key Midwest Conference contests during its 2013 home finale Thursday afternoon at Pioneer Park.

Monmouth College scored a run in the top of the ninth inning to eke out the opener 5-4, and then took advantage of six Pioneer errors in the second game to coast to a 13-4 victory.

The losses sent Grinnell to 6-8 in the MWC and 11-17 overall, while Monmouth improved to 3-7 in league play and 7-21 in all games.

In the opener, Drew Davis '13 pounded out three hits including a double and Phillip Zarcone '15 belted his first homer of the year. Andrew Kelley '14 suffered the pitching loss despite a strong relief effort. He scattered six hits, struck out seven, didn't walk a batter and issued just one earned run in 5-2/3 innings.

Monmouth scored twice in the top of the first inning before Grinnell tallied a run in the bottom of the frame when Davis doubled down the left-field line, stole third and scored on Kainoa Inafuku's groundout.

The teams traded runs in the second, with Grinnell's coming when Ryan Penaflor '16 walked, took second on a groundout and crossed the plate when Matt Schaeffer '14 sent a double to left-center.

Monmouth took a 4-2 lead in the third, but the Pioneers tied the game with solo runs in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Penaflor walked, went to second when Matt Blumenreich '13 walked, took third when Schaeffer was hit by a pitch and scored on Adam Renfro's '16 walk.

In the fifth, Zarcone blasted a solo homer over the left-field fence.

There was no scoring the next three innings before a sacrifice fly in the ninth by Monmouth proved to be the game-winner.

In the second game, Anthony Mack '16, Inafuku, Penaflor and Blumenreich all had two hits to spark Grinnell's 11-hit attack.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Mack singled to right-center, took third on Inafuku's single through the right side and scored on Zarcone's groundout.

Monmouth scored solo runs in the second and third frames and three in the fourth for a 5-1 lead. The Pioneers came back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Walker Bell '15 singled through the left side, advanced to third on Penaflor's fielder's choice and scored on Blumenreich's single to right. Schaeffer then hit an RBI single to left-center to score Penaflor.

The Fighting Scots got a run in the sixth for a 6-3 lead, but Grinnell responded with a run in the bottom of the inning when Bell walked, took second on a balk, went to third on Penaflor's infield single and scored when Blumenreich singled through the right side.

However, Monmouth erupted for seven runs in the seventh with the aid of four hits and three Pioneer errors to all but put the game away.

The same two teams meet Saturday at Monmouth for a twin bill. Action begins at 1 p.m.