STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (17-10, 10-0 GNAC) remained perfect in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with a pair of victories over Norwich University (6-11, 1-7 GNAC) at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Sunday afternoon. The Monks opened with a 3-0 triumph and capped the day with an 11-4 victory.
GAME ONE
The opener was an old-fashioned pitchers' duel, as Monks senior southpaw Dan Meeken (Marshfield, Mass.) and Cadets junior Billy Whaley (Northfield, Vt.) locked heads for six strong innings.
Saint Joseph's scored single runs in the second, fourth and sixth frames in the 3-0 triumph¬. In the second, sophomore shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) doubled home sophomore Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) with a double, sophomore center fielder Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) plated second-year designated hitter Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) with a two-bagger off the left wall in the fourth, and McCoomb doubled and scored on a Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) triple to deep center in the sixth.
Meeken, who tossed a complete-game one-hitter in his last outing – a victory over Albertus Magnus College last Sunday, was perfect through four innings in today's contest and did not allow a baserunner until sophomore third baseman Matt Sirois (Southington, Conn.) led off the fifth with a single up the middle.
Junior reliever Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) was called on to close out the contest in the seventh and retired the first batter with a comebacker, but ran into a jam without allowing a hit, as the Cadets managed to load the bases on a pair of infield miscues and a hit batsman. After plunking sophomore Kyle Dombrowski (Griswold, Conn.) to load the bases, McNamara fanned freshman Spencer Duhamel (Manchester, Conn.) with a backwards K to pick up his fourth save of the year.
Meeken finished the day with eight strikeouts while tossing six innings of two-hit ball and his battery mate, senior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.), went 2-4 with a double and a triple and McCoomb added a pair of doubles with a run and an RBI in three at bats in the victory.
Whaley fell to 2-2 on the season after yielding three runs off nine hits and three walks while fanning five batters in six innings.
GAME TWO
The Monks scored at least one run in five of six turns at the bat en route to posting an 11-4 win in the nightcap.
In the bottom of the first, sophomore second baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) led off with a single, moved to second on a Reuillard sac bunt, and scored when senior third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) tripled off the right field wall.
After stranding a runner in the second, the Monks went back to work in the third by plating three off three hits and a Norwich error to secure a 4-0 advantage. Black opened the inning by reaching on an error and later scored on a Sanborn single and Reuillard, who reached with a base hit to right, raced home on a double play ball off the bat of Barbati to make it a 3-0 game. Donovan capped the inning scoring by plating Sanborn with a double to center.
In the fourth, McCoomb reached with a single up the middle and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Reuillard. The Cadets countered with their first run of the day when Drew Caldwell (Hanover, Mass.) doubled home senior Brandon Place (Concord, N.H.) in the top of the fifth, but the Monks scored a pair off a Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) double that was misplayed in center field, making it a 7-1 contest through five frames.
The Monks completed their side of the scoring ledger with four runs off three hits and a Cadets error in the sixth. Freshman catcher Jacob White (Salem, N.H.) was credited with an RBI with a bases-loaded walk, sophomore first baseman Jameson Collins (Sandown, N.H.) produced an RBI single and freshman outfielder David Condon (Berlin, Conn.) plated a pair with a double to right center to lift the hosts to an 11-1 cushion.
The Cadets mounted a small rally with three runs in the top of the seventh, as Caldwell belted a two-run homer over the left field wall and Dombrowski knocked in sophomore center fielder LaShawn Thomas (San Antonio, Texas) with a single to left to account for the 11-4 final.
Black led the Monks offensively by going 3-4 with three runs and Sanborn was 2-2 with a pair of runs, two RBI and a triple in the lopsided triumph. Sophomore starter Nick Malatesta (Wrentham, Mass.) improved to 3-1 on the season after allowing a run off four hits with seven strikeouts over six innings while freshman Chris Gerossie (Chester, N.H.) gave up three runs off three hits with one punch out in an inning of mop-up work.
For the Cadets, Caldwell was 2-3 with a run, a double, a homer and three RBI and junior starting pitcher Brian Whaley (Northfield, Vt.) took the loss after allowing seven runs (four earned) off eight hits and three hit batsmen while fanning four over four innings. Sophomore Kyle Farquharson (South Ryegate, Vt.) surrendered four runs off four hits and thee walks with five K's in two frames of relief.
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's improves to 16-0 in the history of the series with Norwich University. The Monks have now won 11 consecutive games, a stretch that began with a pair of wins over Lasell College last Thursday.
Saint Joseph's returns to action Monday night with a non-conference contest versus Bowdoin College. First pitch is slated for 6:45 PM and the Monks will play as the away team versus the Polar Bears.
Norwich hosts Anna Maria College in a GNAC twinbill on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch for the opener is scheduled for 2:00 PM.
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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 474-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.
