NORTHFIELD, VT – Saint Joseph's (29-3, 12-0 GNAC) took two from Norwich University (4-28, 1-11 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon. Freshman catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) tallied four hits in the sweep, including three in the opening win.
GAME ONE
St. Joe's led 2-1 after three innings, as Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) tripled to deep center and scampered home on a Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) single in the second and Dan Achorn (Bow, N.H.) singled and crossed the plate on a Norwich miscue in the third, but the Cadets proceeded to take the lead on one swing in their next turn. With a runner on first, junior right fielder Dustin Shimkus (Collinsville, Ill.) turned on a Tyler Laverriere (Biddeford, Maine) pitch and drove it well beyond the left field fence to lift his team to a 3-2 edge.
Norwich would add to its lead in the fourth when J.J. Losco reached on a walk and eventually scored on a wild pitch. The Monks managed to get the run back in the top of the fifth when Achorn singled, stole second, and scored on an Alex Lorenc (Nanuet, N.Y.) single to right field, making it a 4-3 game in the Cadets' favor.
St. Joe's then tied the game in the sixth when Louie Vigars (Stratham, N.H.), pinch-running for Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus), who reached with a single, scored on a Brandon Chase (Naples, Maine) triple to right-center. Saint Joseph's plated the winning run in the top off the seventh, when Achorn led off with a double down the left field line, moved to third on a Coyne bunt, and scored on a shallow sac fly off the bat of junior first baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass.).
Senior slinger Andrew Devereaux (Hope Valley, R.I.) notched his first victory of the year after tossing 2.2 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief with a pair of strikeouts and freshman righthander Alex Valenti (Lawrence, Mass.) notched his second collegiate save by recording the final two outs of the contest.
Senior Alexandro Cardoza (Cicero, Ill./Cristo Rey Jesuit) delivered a gritty performance on the mound for the Cadets (4-28, 1-11 GNAC), giving up four earned runs on 11 hits while issuing only one walk as he fell to 1-4 on the year.
For the Monks, Achorn went 3-4 with three runs scored, a double and a stolen base and Coyne was 3-4. The Cadets did not feature a repeat-hitter in the opening loss.
GAME TWO
Game two saw Saint Joseph's jump out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second, only to see Norwich score three runs back in the bottom of the frame on two hits and an error. The Monks would score single runs in the third and fourth innings before effectively putting the game out of reach with a three-run fifth.
Pratt went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBI to power SJC in the second game. Chase added a three-run blast of his own in the second inning and Lops was 2-2 with two runs and an RBI for the visitors. Sophomore starting pitcher Nick Whittaker (Yarmouth, Maine) moved to 5-0 on the mound, scattering three hits over five innings with three K's and five walk while allowing one earned run.
For Norwich, freshman pitcher Brandon Place (Concord, N.H.) worked six innings, allowing nine runs (seven earned) off 11 hits and four walks and falls to 0-6 with the loss. Shimkus went 1-for-3 with two RBI to again pace the Cadets at the dish.
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's improves to 10-0 in the history of the series with Norwich University. The Monks had never made the trek to Northfield prior to Wednesday's twinbill.
Norwich is back at home again on Thursday when it hosts in-state rival St. Michael's at 4:00 PM. Saint Joseph's returns to action on Friday when the team hosts GNAC-rival Johnson & Wales University in a doubleheader set to begin at 2:00 PM.