WINTER HAVEN, FL – Saint Joseph's (7-3) rallied from a 5-4 deficit with three runs in the top of the ninth to defeat University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (0-1), 7-5, in RussMatt Central Florida Invitational action on Friday morning. Sophomore outfielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) was 3-5 with two runs and an RBI in the victory.
After owning the lead for most of the contest, the Monks fell into a 5-4 hole after the Corsairs scored twice in the bottom of the eighth and had just three outs at their disposal to produce the comeback victory. Sophomore outfielder Tim Beaudette (Uxbridge, Mass.) delivered the clutch hit, a bases-loaded two-run single with two out to put Saint Joseph's on top. The Monks proceeded to tack on an insurance run when senior third baseman Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) singled and later scored on a passed ball, accounting for the 7-5 final.
Sophomore reliever Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.), who entered the game in the bottom of the seventh and allowed two runs off four hits in the eighth, redeemed himself with a spotless ninth, fanning a pair and inducing a harmless groundout to collect his second win of the season.
Reuillard was one of four SJC repeat-hitters, as Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus), Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) and Louie Vigars (Stratham, N.H.) recorded two hits apiece in the win. Starting pitcher Alex Valenti (Lawrence, Mass.) did not factor into the decision after allowing three runs off seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings.
For the Corsairs, junior Alex Newton (Saco, Maine) was 3-4 with a run, a triple and an RBI and junior first baseman Alberto Vasquez (Roxbury, Mass.) went 2-4 with a pair of runs and a double in a losing effort. Junior southpaw Nick Fuller (Acushnet, Mass.) started and tossed four frames, allowing four runs off four hits and three walks with five K's. Junior reliever Ethan Kelley (New Bedford, Mass.) gave up four hits in 2.2 innings of scoreless relief and sophomore Matt Russell (Townsend, Mass.), who surrendered three runs off four hits in 2.1 frames, was hit with the losing decision in the Corsairs' 2014 season-opener.
Saint Joseph's grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the third off a pair of hits and a UMass.-Dartmouth error. With one out, freshman designated hitter Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) walked and later scored on a Coyne base hit to center. Reuillard then drove in Lops, who singled up the middle, and stole second before scoring on a misplayed ball in the infield to make it a 3-0 game through two and a half innings.
In the fourth, Vigars led off with a single through the left side, swiped second, went to third on a passed ball, and scampered home when Black reached on an error.
The Corsairs finally got on the board with three runs off five hits and a Saint Joseph's error in the bottom of the sixth. Nate Farias (Fall River, Mass.) opened the inning with a double to left-center and later scored on a Connor Shaw (Goffstown, N.H.) sac fly.
Trailing 4-3 in the eighth, the Corsairs gained their first lead with two runs off four hits. Newton tied the game by tripling home Vasquez and scored when the following batter, Tyler Andrade (Acushnet, Mass.), singled to lift his team to a 5-4 edge.
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 2-0 all-time versus UMass.-Dartmouth, a team the Monks had not faced in the spring since 2007.
The Monks conclude the 2014 southern swing with doubleheader versus Wartburg College, a team that went 35-11 and competed in the NCAA Tournament last spring. The first contest is slated to start at 9:30 AM.
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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.
