AUBURNDALE, FL – Saint Joseph's College (1-0) registered 20 hits in a mercy-rule shortened 18-8 victory over Concordia College (MN) (2-5) in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Friday afternoon. Junior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) went 3-5 with three runs, two doubles and a pair of RBI in the Monks' season-opening victory.
Glancing at the final score, one may not consider that the opening innings were tenuous at best for Saint Joseph's, which trailed 3-0 after the first inning and 5-3 after three full frames. The Monks claimed their first lead with three runs in the top of the fourth and, after the Cobbers tied the contest at 6-6 in the bottom half, secured the advantage for good with four in the fifth and put up eight in the seventh to account for the 18-8 final.
For the Monks, the opening day runs total counts as the most since St. Joe's toppled Daniel Webster College by a 19-2 score on March 11th, 2007. Today's hits total is the largest since the Royal Blue rapped 25 hits in a 20-8 victory over New Jersey City University on March 20th, 2010.
Saint Joseph's also tied the program's single-game doubles record with eight two-base hits in today's triumph. The tally was also reached versus Maine-Farmington on April 28th, 2000 and Rivier University on April 4th, 2009.
For the Monks, sophomore Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) went 3-4 with two runs, a double, a triple and three RBI, senior Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) was 2-3 with three runs, a double and three RBI and senior Louie Vigars (Stratham, N.H.) added three hits in four trips with a pair of runs, a double and two RBI in the triumph. Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus), Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine), Zack Graham (Marlborough, Mass.) and Tim Beaudette (Uxbridge, Mass.) posted two hits apiece versus the Cobbers.
On the mound, senior Nick Whittaker (Yarmouth, Maine) took a no-decision after allowing seven runs (five earned) off six hits and three walks with three K's over five innings. Junior Dan Meeken (Marshfield, Mass.) earned the victory after yielding an unearned run off two hits in an inning of relief and sophomore Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) closed out the game with a perfect seventh.
For the Cobbers, Braden Rahma and Cody Rahman produced two hits apiece, Tim Carlson doubled and drove home three and Phil Kuball scored four runs in a losing effort. Starting pitcher Jackson Mela surrendered six runs off nine hits in four innings but did not factor in the decision. Reliever Kyle Connelly took the loss and falls to 0-2 on the young season after giving up four runs on four hits in 1/3 inning of work.
Saint Joseph's returns to the diamond on Saturday when the Monks play a pair against New England Region foe Clark University. The first game of the twinbill is slated for a 12:00 PM start. Concordia closes out their spring trip with an 8:00 AM game against Gwynedd Mercy on Saturday.
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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 430-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.