AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Fontbonne University (1-2) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-6), 8-7, in RussMatt Central Florida Invitational baseball action on Monday afternoon.
The Monks erased an early 4-0 deficit with seven unanswered runs, but saw a 7-4 lead evaporate as the Griffins scored twice in both the seventh and eighth innings to claim the 8-7 victory.
¬Trailing by four in the bottom of the third, senior third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) doubled and trotted home two batters later when junior Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) launched his first home run of the season. Sophomore right fielder Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) plated Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) with a double to right and Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and crossed the plate when Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) reached on an infield error, knotting the game at 4-4. Sophomore second baseman Mike Kinch (Newton, Mass.) followed and put the Monks on top, sending Betts home with a single.
Black opened the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff single and later scored on a Barbati sac fly to right field and Coyne, who reached on a fielder's choice, sprinted home when sophomore Jameson Collins (Sandown, N.H.) doubled down the right field line, making it a 7-4 game through six.
Fontbonne scored twice off four hits and an error in the seventh, as Ethan Boyer led off with a base hit and scored on a miscue and Alex Hill singled and scored on a Matt Wallis base hit to make it a 7-6 contest. The Griffins reclaimed the lead in the eighth, when Lucas Carter scored the game-tying run on an error and Ben Greenwald plated the winning run with a fielder's choice.
For the Monks, Betts was 2-4 with a run, a double and an RBI and Collins went 2-5 with a two-bagger and an RBI in the losing bid. Junior reliever Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) took the loss after allowing an unearned run over two innings while sophomore Thomas Fortier (Falmouth, Mass.) allowed two runs (one earned) off four hits and a walk with three K's over three solid frames of relief. Freshman Joshua Partridge (Deerfield, N.H.) allowed an unearned run off three hits and a walk in an inning of work and freshman Christopher Gerossie (Chester, N.H.), making his first NCAA start, gave up four runs off four hits and four walks with three K's in three innings.
Saint Joseph's returns to action tomorrow morning with a 9:00 AM contest versus Gordon College.
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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.
