STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (26-14, 12-2 GNAC) rallied past Nichols College (24-17, 11-5 CCC), 5-4, in a non-conference baseball contest at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Tuesday afternoon.
THE LEAD
After four scoreless innings, the Monks and Bison proceeded to swap leads three times in the fifth and sixth frames, with Saint Joseph's claiming the final advantage with two runs off two hits in the bottom of the sixth. Trailing 4-3, junior right fielder Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) singled and moved to third when the following batter, junior center fielder Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) doubled to left-center and both runners crossed the plate without the benefit of a base hit, as the former raced home on a Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) sacrifice fly and the latter scored the eventual game-winning run on a passed ball.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
- SJC junior Nick Malatesta (Wrentham, Mass.) picked up the victory and improves to 5-3 on the season after tossing 3.2 innings of scoreless relief while allowing two hits and a walk with a strikeout
- SJC junior southpaw Thomas Fortier (Falmouth, Maine), making his second start of the season, threw well but did not factor into the decision after yielding four runs off nine hits and a walk with five K's in 5.1 frames
- Nichols freshman reliever Tyler Crane (East Amherst, N.Y.) took the loss and falls to 1-2 on the year after allowing two runs (one earned) off two hits with a pair of punch-outs in one inning
- Nichols freshman relievers Cam Beulieu (Newburyport, Mass.), Danny Hayden (North Kingstown, R.I.), and Chris Dipilato (Worcester, Mass.) combined to toss two innings of scoreless relief
SJC HIGHLIGHTS
- Junior shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) went 3-4 with a stolen base and made several outstanding plays among his seven chances in the field
- Senior designated hitter Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus) was 2-4 with a double and an RBI
- Black added two singles, a stolen base, a sac fly, a sac bunt, and an RBI in five plate appearances
- Senior left fielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) singled and stole a base
NICHOLS HIGHLIGHTS
- Sophomore second baseman Cam Cook (Phoenixville, Pa.) went 3-5 with a run
- Sophomore right fielder Nick Roy (Middletown, Conn.) was 2-4 with two runs and an RBI
- Junior left fielder Matt Hardy (North Attleboro, Mass.) added two hits and a run in four at-bats
- Sophomore catcher Ross Caswell (Randolph, Vt.) singled and stole a base
NOTEWORTHY
Saint Joseph's turned three double plays for the second time in the last three games and second time overall this season…today's contest counts as the final collegiate game at Mahaney Diamond for the Monks' four seniors – Lops, Reuillard, Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.), and Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) – a quartet that helped SJC post a 45-11 (.804) home record over the last four seasons.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
Today's contest marked the first-ever meeting between the Saint Joseph's and Nichols baseball programs. Collectively across all sports, the two New England colleges have now met nine times with the Bison holding the upper hand with a 5-4 record against the Monks. The last occasion these teams met took place last spring when St. Joe's topped Nichols, 12-2, in a softball game played on March 15th in Fort Myers, Florida.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's concludes the 2016 season with a single nine-inning game at MIT on Thursday. First pitch is slated for 4:00 PM.
Nichols has earned an ECAC Tournament berth and will host Elms College in a first round contest tomorrow 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.
