STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (8-7) cruised past Husson University (7-9), 16-2, in a non-conference baseball game – and the Monks' 2016 home opener - at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Wednesday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the early going, Saint Joseph's employed the long ball as junior second baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run down the left field line and senior left fielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) lifted the Monks to a 4-0 lead with a two-run jack over the right field wall in the third.
In the bottom of the fourth, St. Joe's all but put the game away with eight runs off four hits and a Husson error. Junior designated hitter Jameson Collins (Sandown, N.H.) accounted for four of the runs on one swing by launching a grand slam well beyond the left field fence.
PITCHER OF RECORD
With five days off – and today's game being the Monks' second in the last 10 days - Saint Joseph's utilized a "Charlie whole-staff" approach in an effort to get as many pitchers back in action as possible. With this in mind, seven different pitchers saw time in the lopsided victory.
Sophomore Travis Godbout (Portland, Maine) was credited with his first collegiate victory after tossing two innings of one-hit ball with a pair of strikeouts while throwing 17 of 24 pitches for strikes. Junior Nick Malatesta (Wrentham, Maine) started the game but did not factor into the decision after allowing a hit and a walk with three K's over two innings.
Freshman Grayson Jennings (Bedford, N.H.), junior Matt Wojciak (Merrimack, N.H.), sophomore Chris Gerossie (Chester, N.H.), and seniors Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) and Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) tossed an inning apiece and combined to yield two runs off three hits and two free passes with eight punch-outs. McNamara looked particularly sharp in the top of the ninth, throwing all 10 of his pitches for strikes en route to striking out the side.
For the Eagles, sophomore starter Tommy Burns (Eddington, Maine) falls to 1-1 on the season after allowing eight runs (four earned) off six hits and a walk with one strikeout over 3.1 innings. Connor Maguire (Ellsworth, Maine), Matt Smith (Belfast, Maine), Kyle Bourget (Lisbon, Maine), Joe Skoczylas (Winthrop, Maine), and AJ Purcell (Tiverton, R.I.) combined to give up eight runs (four earned) off eight hits and seven walks with one K over 4.2 innings of collective relief.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
SJC HIGHLIGHTS
- Collins was 3-4 with two runs, a homer, and four RBI
- Black went 2-4 with a run, a home run, and four RBI
- Freshman third baseman Noah McDaniel (Eliot, Maine) reached base five times with two hits and a pair of walks and scored three runs
- Reuillard added two runs, a homer, and three RBI in two plate appearences
- Junior right fielder Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) went 2-3 with two runs and a double
- Freshman center fielder Jared Gagne (Dover, N.H.) scored a pair of runs and was 1-3 with an RBI
HUSSON HIGHLIGHTS
- Freshman shortstop Mike Wong (Lewiston, Maine) accounted for three of the Eagles' five hits and was 3-4 with a run, a double, and an RBI in the loss
- Junior outfielder Cam Archer (Old Town, Maine) scored a run and worked a pair of walks
NOTEWORTHY
Saint Joseph's hit three home runs for the first time since Joe Coyne '15, Alex Lorenc '14, and Mike Pratt '13 hit big flies in an 8-0 victory over Daniel Webster College on April 19th, 2013…the Collins grand slam was the Monks' 10th long ball of the season – the same amount the team hit in 43 games last spring.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 63-36 in the history of the series with Husson University, a team the Monks tipped by a 5-2 score in Bangor last week. The SJC run total in today's win is the most scored against the Eagles since St. Joe's toppled Husson by a 17-6 score in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship on May 7th, 2006.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's kicks off conference play this Saturday with a pair of games at Suffolk University, the first starting at 12:00 PM. Husson hosts Lyndon State College in a NAC doubleheader on Friday at 3:00 PM.
#GOMONKS
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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.