Players, coaches, parents and family members chipped in to help make the event a success once again.
"Combining our fall baseball games with a food drive for our local food pantry – Catherine's Cupboard – has been a big success over the last three years," adds SJC Head Coach Will Sanborn '86, now in his 20th year as the Monks' skipper. "Each year the tradition grows as families from both programs seem to donate more and more food each year. This has proved to be a great opportunity for our players to give back to the community and help others and we look forward to continuing the tradition next fall."
During the break between games - which were originally to be played on September 24th but moved back due to poor weather - Saint Josephs' parents and family members offered an impressive feast for both teams to enjoy.
On the field, Saint Joseph's prevailed in both games with a 7-2 win in the opener and a 5-3 triumph in the nightcap.
The Monks scored single runs in each of the first three innings and added two in the fourth and fifth frames to provide the SJC pitching staff more support than needed in a 7-2 victory. Junior first baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass.) picked up where he left off last spring by going 2-3 with a double, a run and two RBI, sophomore transfer Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) went 2-4 with a triple a run scored and an RBI and senior shortstop Dan Achorn (Bow, N.H.) picked up three RBI without recording a base hit.
On the hill, five pitchers combined to yield a pair of unearned runs off four hits and two walks while fanning 10 batters in the nine-inning victory. Junior righthander Chad Rafferty (Keene, N.H.) started for the Monks and allowed a hit and a walk over three innings with four K's and sophomore Nick Whittaker (Yarmouth, Maine) yielded one hit and struck out one in two innings to collect the victory.
Relievers Jimmy Kennedy '13 (York, Maine), Kyle Neagle '12 (Lisbon Falls, Maine) and Andrew Devereaux '12 (Hope Valley, R.I.) combined to toss four innings of two-run ball - both unearned - while striking out five batters.
Saint Joseph's was forced to rally late in the nightcap to escape with a 5-3 triumph and the doubleheader sweep. SJC starter Joe Gruntkosky '14 (Peabody, Mass.) allowed two unearned runs in the first inning, but the Monks countered with a run off a Peter Allain '12 (Salem, Mass.) RBI single in the bottom of the frame.
The Scots' 2-1 edge stood until the fifth when Jacob Syed '15 (Niskayuna, N.Y.) extended the visitors' advantage to two runs with an RBI single off Monks pitcher Alex Valenti '15 (Lawrence, Mass.).
After a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, St. Joe's proceeded to tally four runs off three hits in the following inning to secure a 5-3 lead. After Allain reached on an infield error, freshman designated hitter Danny Place (Naples, Maine) drove a sharply-hit line drive single to left and senior third baseman Dan Brown (Portland, Maine/Deering) was plunked by an errant pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Pinch-hitter James Mostone '12 (Pelham, N.H.) then struck out, but sophomore center fielder Cody Hadley (Norway, Maine) came through with a two-run single to lift the Monks to a 4-3 lead. Up next was sophomore second baseman Matt Consigli (Northbridge, Mass.), who shot an RBI single up the middle to provide the Monks with some breathing room.
Freshman reliever Steve Carlberg (Dover, N.H.) shut the door in the top of the seventh to collect a fall-ball save. Sanborn worked two perfect frames with three strikeouts and Valenti was credited with the win on the mound.
