BRISTOL, RI – Saint Joseph's (3-7) erased a four-run deficit with five unanswered runs to defeat Roger Williams (4-8), 5-4, in a non-conference baseball game on Friday afternoon. Senior outfielder Todd Keneborus (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus) went 2-5 with a two-run home run in the win, which snapped a six-game losing streak for the Monks.
SJC starting pitcher Sam Murray '12 (Walpole, MA) outdueled his southpaw counterpart, and former high school teammate, P.J. Gourthro '11 (Walpole, MA) to earn his second win of the season. Murray, the 2010 GNAC Pitcher of the Year, settled in after allowing four runs in the second frame and scattered three hits over the next five innings to improve to 2-0 on the year. Overall, he struck out five while allowing seven hits and one free pass in seven innings.
First-year righthander Joe Gruntkosky (Peabody, MA) worked two perfect innings and fanned two batters to pick up his first collegiate save.
For the Monks, sophomore center fielder Sam Butts (Saco, ME) was 2-4 with a run and an RBI and freshman designated hitter Alex Lorenc (Nanuet, NY) went 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Sophomore shortstop Dan Achorn (Bow, NH) scored two runs and was 1-3 in the SJC victory.
Freshman center fielder Mike Pascarella (Milford, CT) went 2-4 with a double and an RBI and sophomore second baseman Matt Swensen (Charlton, MA) launched a two-run home run in a losing effort.
Gouthro allowed six hits, a walk and three earned runs while fanning seven in 5.1 innings for Roger Williams. Reliever Eric Diffily '14 (North Reading, MA) took the loss after allowing one unearned run and a pair of walks in 0.1 innings.
The Hawks tacked on all four of their runs in the second inning. Zach Porter '11 (Middleboro, MA) led off with a double and walked home on Swensen's shot to right center. Sophomore shortstop John Oppenheimer (Westport, CT) plated right fielder Eric Bransfield '14 (Lynn, MA), who reached via hit by pitch, with a groundout to second base and freshman catcher T.J. Oliver (Manchester, VT), who doubled, crossed the plate on a Pascarella two-bagger to make it a 4-0 game.
The Monks immediately went to work with the bats by scoring three runs on their next turn at the plate. Achorn led off with a base knock to left field and scored on a Butts single to center. Up next was Keneborus, who quickly changed the makeup of the game when he sent the first pitch he saw over the right field fence to cut the SJC deficit to 4-3.
The score remained until the top of the seventh, when Achorn scored the tying run from second, taking advantage of an errant throw from first in an attempt to turn a double play. With Keneborus on second, Lorenc notched the eventual game-winning RBI with single up the middle.
The Hawks went down in order over the final three innings as St. Joe's held on for the win. Swensen nearly sparked a ninth-inning rally with a rocket to the right side, but defensive replacement Matt Consigli (Northbridge, MA) made a clutch diving stop at second and threw him out easily at first.
Roger Williams will open Commonwealth Coast Conference play on the road Saturday against Eastern Nazarene College, while Saint Joseph's plays a doubleheader tomorrow at New Jersey City University beginning at 12:00 PM.
THANKS IN PART TO ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
Postgame interview with Coach Sanborn:
