BRUNSWICK, ME – Sophomore starting pitcher Chad Rafferty (Keene, NH) tossed a complete-game shutout to lead Saint Joseph's (30-11, 12-2 GNAC) to a 1-0 victory over Bowdoin College (22-13, 8-4 NESCAC) at Pickard Field on Sunday afternoon. With the triumph, St. Joe's reaches the 30-win plateau for the third consecutive season and the sixth time in the last seven years.

Rafferty, now 5-1 on the season, scattered eight hits with one walk and eight K's to record his third shutout of the year. The second-year righthander has not allowed a run with 22 K's and just 14 hits allowed in his last 21 innings on the mound.

The last Saint Joseph's pitcher to notch shutouts in back to back starts was current Detroit Tigers farmhand Charlie Furbush, who blanked Maine-Farmington and Thomas College – with nine relief stints in between - during his sophomore season. With four shutouts during his freshman campaign, Furbush also owns the Monks' single-season record for goose-egg efforts.

The lone run of the game came in the top of the sixth, when Todd Keneborus '11 (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus) led off with a single, moved to third on a double by Mike Pratt '13 (Dartmouth, MA), and scored on an Ian Lee '11 (Hampden, ME) single down the left field line.

Bowdoin had a baserunner in every inning until the ninth but couldn't push the tying run across. The Polar Bears had an apparent run taken off the board in the third inning when a double steal resulted in an errant throw and a run coming home for Bowdoin. But the home plate umpire ruled umpire interference on the play, removing the run, and Rafferty avoided further damage in the frame.

For the Monks, Keneborus, Pratt and Lee had two hits apiece. Polar Bears catcher Duncan Taylor '14 (Washington, D.C.), who went 2-3 in the setback, was the lone repeat hitter for Bowdoin.

John Lefeber (3-3) '14 (Branford, CT) pitched well for the hosts but suffered the loss after allowing one run off seven hits and two walks in seven innings. Reliever Jay Loughlin '14 (Rockland, MA) yielded two hits in a scoreless eighth and Ian Edwards '12 (Bangor, ME) fanned a pair with one hit allowed in a clean ninth frame.

Bowdoin will next play in the opening round of the NESCAC Tournament at Amherst College on Friday at 3:00 PM while Saint Joseph's will close out their regular season with a doubleheader at Bates on Wednesday at noon.

St. Joe's, which defeated Suffolk University in the GNAC Championship game at Larry Mahaney Diamond last Sunday, claimed an automatic qualifier with the conference crown and will appear in the NCAA DIII Baseball Tournament for the fifth time in the last six years. The tourney begins on Wednesday, May 18th and teams will learn of their pairings next Monday.

THANKS IN PART TO BOWDOIN COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION