AUBURNDALE, FL – Saint Joseph's (4-1) continued its southern swing with a pair of contests on Tuesday, falling to #17 Wheaton College (3-1) by a 6-2 margin before topping Endicott College (1-4), 11-9, in the second game of the day.
GAME ONE
St. Joes held a 2-1 lead over Wheaton after two innings of play, but the Lyons proceeded to score single runs in the third, fifth and sixth and a pair in the seventh while keeping the Monks off the board en route to the 6-2 victory.
Wheaton grabbed an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Haugh in the bottom of the first that brought in junior Eric Jensen (Gorham, N.H.). The Monks struck back for a pair in the top of the second to take a 2-1 lead on an RBI groundout by sophomore Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) and a sac fly off the bat of sophomore Alex Lorenc (Nanuet, N.Y.).
The Lyons tied the game in the third when senior Hal Landers (Salem, N.H.) stroked a leadoff double and scored on a sac fly by junior Sean Ryan (Norton, Mass.). In the fifth, Jensen drew a leadoff walk, went to third on a single by Haugh, and scored on an RBI groundout by De la Cruz to give the Lyons a 3-2 edge.
Junior catcher Dan Gusovsky (Andover, Mass.) led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and scored on a single by Landers to double Wheaton's lead. RBI hits from De la Cruz and Gusovsky in the bottom of the seventh extended the Lyons lead to 6-2.
Junior righty Tyler Laverriere (Biddeford, Maine) took the loss for Saint Joseph's, allowing five hits and three runs over 4.1 innings. He walked three and struck out five. Freshman catcher Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus) and junior second baseman Brandon Chase (Naples, Maine) each recorded two hits for the Monks.
Senior southpaw Sam Murray (Walpole, Mass.) was effective with a strikeout and an earned run allowed in 1.2 innings of relief. Making his first collegiate appearance, deceptive freshman lefthander Steve Carlberg (Dover, N.H.) was dominant, fanning two of the Lyons' top hitters – Jensen and Haugh – while allowing no baserunners in a perfect ninth inning.
Senior third baseman Dan Haugh (Andover, Mass.) went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored as the Lyons (3-1) racked up 12 hits to extend their winning streak to three games. Sophomore righthander Mike McGinnis (Mashpee, Mass.) allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings to earn his first win of the season. He walked three and struck out two. Classmate Nick Filloramo (Rochester, Mass.) came on in relief of McGinnis in the eighth and pitched the final two frames.
GAME TWO
Slated to play a doubleheader on Sunday, St. Joe's and Endicott managed to get one game in before heavy downpours negated the nightcap, resulting in a nine-inning makeup contest which was played at Lake Bonny Park in Lakeland on Tuesday afternoon.
Neither team was able to muster any offense over the first two frames, but the Monks broke through with a Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass.) RBI single in the top of the third to stake a 1-0 lead. The Royal Blue proceeded to break out in a big way over the next two innings, scoring 10 runs off 12 hits to seemingly put the game out of reach.
The SJC pitchers held the Gulls to a pair of runs over their next four turns at the bat, but Endicott managed to put up seven runs in the final three innings to cut the St. Joe's lead to just two runs, 11-9. Thankfully, Carlberg was able to stop the bleeding by inducing a game-ending flyout with a runner on second.
Five Saint Joseph's batters qualified as repeat-hitters. Pratt led the way by going 4-4 with a run, a double and three RBI, sophomore left fielder Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) went 3-3 with two RBI, and freshman catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) added a 3-3 effort with two runs and an RBI. Senior shortstop Dan Achorn (Bow, N.H.) was 3-5 with a run scored and Lorenc went 2-3 with two runs, two RBI and a home run – a deep blast over the left-center wall in the top of the fourth – for the Monks.
Junior center fielder Sam Butts (Saco, Maine) scored a pair of runs and went 1-3 with the bat and Chase tripled home a run and scored versus the Gulls. Sophomore outfielder Pat Copp (Cumberland, Maine) recorded his first hit with the Monks, a sharply-hit single through the left side, in the victory.
Starting pitcher Nick Whittaker (Yarmouth, Maine) pitched well, scattering five hits and a walk with no earned runs and two K's over five innings to produce his first win of the season. Junior Jimmy Kennedy (York, Maine) worked a perfect sixth and freshman Alex Valenti (Lawrence, Mass.), making his first NCAA appearance on the hill, surrendered three hits and an earned run while fanning a batter in one inning of relief work. Freshman pitchers Anthony Zawistowski (Otisville, N.Y.) and Jake Gardiner (Westbrook, Maine) also worked in relief for the Monks.
Sophomore Steven Carter (Brunswick, Maine) surrendered six runs on twelve hits in 3.2 innings and suffered the loss. Freshman Zac Poland (Essex Junction, Vt.) tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four batters.
Saint Joseph's will face off against Curry College in a doubleheader slated to begin at 2:00 PM on Thursday, while Endicott takes on Keene State College at 9:00 AM on Thursday.
