FROSTPROOF, FL – Saint Joseph's, ranked ninth nationally in the most recent NCBWA/D3baseball.com Poll, split a doubleheader with UMass.-Boston (1-2) to close out the 2013 spring trip with a 7-2 record. The Monks blanked the Beacons, 5-0, in the opener and fell, 4-2, in the nightcap.
GAME ONE
Saint Joseph's scored a run in the first, two in the third and single runs in the fourth and fifth frames en route to the 5-0 triumph.
In the first inning, senior center fielder Sam Butts (Saco, Maine) led off with a walk and eventually scored when sophomore designated hitter Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) singled through the right side. Sophomore left fielder Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus) drove in Brandon Chase (Naples, Maine) and Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) with a double to lift the Royal Blue to a 3-0 lead.
Senior first baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass.) opened the bottom of the fourth with a home run and plated Markakis with a sacrifice fly in the fifth to make it a 5-0 game.
Senior pitcher Chad Rafferty (Keene, N.H.), a 2013 D3baseball.com Preseason First Team All-America honoree, was dominant yet again with only four hits allowed and six strikeouts to post his second shutout in as many starts this week. In two outings so far this spring, Rafferty has yielded just nine hits with 14 strikeouts and no walks in 14 innings.
With the victory, Rafferty – now 23-1 in his career - ties former great Richard Flaherty '86 atop the Monks' all-time wins list. The senior staff ace has not allowed a run in his last 32 innings – dating to last season - and broke his own program-record scoreless innings streak today, a mark he originally set in 2011 with 21.1 goose-egg innings. Currently, Rafferty has not allowed a run (earned or unearned) in his last 26.1 frames.
Lops led the SJC offense by going 3-3 with a double and a pair of RBI in the victory.
Beacons starter Will Barrack (Lancaster, Va.) took the loss after giving up four runs off seven hits and a walk over four innings. Reliever Patrick Austin (Torrington, Conn.) allowed a run off a hit and a pair of walks in two frames.
GAME TWO
The Monks were unable to close out an otherwise outstanding trip with a victory, as Beacons starting pitcher Kyle Szatrowski (Agawam, Mass.) baffled the Royal Blue with six innings of two run, two hit ball en route to claiming his team's first win of the season.
The Beacons scored their first runs of the day in the bottom of the second with a Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) single and a Gerard Florentino (West Roxbury, Mass.) groundout to short. UMass.-Boston doubled the lead two innings later when Charles LaPaglia (Marshfield, Mass.) led off with a home run and Luke Fischetti (Liverpool, N.Y.) scored on a Tyler Kirwan (Syracuse, N.Y.) single.
Saint Joseph's had runners on base every inning and stranded 11 in the loss, finally got on the board in the sixth when Pratt jacked his second solo shot of the day. The Monks would load the bases in the frame but failed to capitalize.
Lops opened the seventh with a single through the rights side and later scored on a Pratt double down the right field line, but the Monks could not cause further damage despite several hard-hit balls in the final frame.
For the Monks, Pratt went 3-4 with a double, a homer and a pair of RBI and Lops went 2-4 with a run scored in the loss. Junior starting pitcher Nick Whittaker (Yarmouth, Maine) took the loss after allowing four runs of four hits and two walks with three K's in 3.1 innings. Freshman reliever Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) was solid in 2.2 innings, allowing two hits and a walk to keep the Monks in the contest.
For the Beacons, LaPaglia was 2-3 with two runs and a home run and Fischetti added two hits and a run scored in three at bats. Szatrowski picked up the win after allowing two runs off six hits and a pair of walks in six innings and freshman Shane O'Leary (Boston, Mass.) earned his first NCAA save with one hit allowed in one frame of relief.
Saint Joseph's returns to action on Friday, March 22nd when the Monks play at Roger Williams University. The nine-inning game is slated to begin at 3:30 PM.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
