WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (2-0) kicked off the 2018 campaign with a pair of victories over King's College (Pa.) (0-2) on Sunday evening. The Monks opened the season with a 10-6 victory and completed the sweep with a 2-0 nightcap triumph.
GAME ONE: Saint Joseph's 10, King's (Pa.) 6
The Monks jumped out the gates with three runs off five hits in the bottom of the first inning. Senior center fielder Chris Gerossie (Chester, N.H.) led off with a triple to right field and immediately scored when the following batter, junior shortstop Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) singled up the middle. Juniors Anthony DiPrizio (Rochester, N.H.) and Noah McDaniel (Eliot, Maine) later produced run-scoring singles to lift their team to an early 3-0 cushion.
St. Joe's tacked on a pair of runs in the second and plated five off four hits and a pair of Monarch errors in the bottom of the fifth, when DiPrizio doubled home a run and scored on a McDaniel single and freshman third baseman Hunter Richardson (North Monmouth, Maine) knocked in a pair with a two-out base hit.
The Monks swiped seven bases in the victory, the team's most since stealing eight against Bates College on May 3rd, 2009.
ON THE MOUND:
Senior starter Josh Partridge (Deerfield, N.H.) picked up his first win of the season after tossing four innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts and three walks. Sophomore Luke Klenda (Yarmouth, Maine) fanned three and allowed a run off two hits in two innings of effective relief and freshman Jonathan Marchia (Chicopee, Mass.) yielded five runs off three hits and three walks in 2/3 of an inning. Sophomore Troy Bogdahn (Hollis, Maine) shut the door by fanning the last batter.
OFF THE BAT:
- Murphy went 2-3 with three runs, two stolen bases, and a pair of RBI
- DiPrizio was 2-3 with a run, a double, two RBI, and a stolen base
- McDaniel added two hits in three at-bats with a steal and two RBI
- Richardson was 1-2 with two RBI and was hit by pitch twice
- Freshman second baseman Luke Johnson (East Hampton, Conn.) stole a pair of bases and scored a run
GAME TWO: Saint Joseph's 2, King's (Pa.) 0
Freshman starter Zach Begin (Georgetown, Mass.) was the story in the second game, as the first-year righthander kicked off his NCAA career with a dominant performance, fanning 12 batters in a two-hit complete-game shutout.
With one out in the top of the second, freshman outfielder Mattingly Simaan (Mahopac, N.Y.) knocked in DiPrizio, who led off the frame with a double to left, on a fielder's choice.
The Monks tacked on an insurance run in the sixth, as sophomore Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) singled up the middle and scored on a DiPrizio double to right-center.
ON THE MOUND:
Begin allowed just one runner to reach third base and struck out six of the last seven batters he faced, including all three hitters in the bottom of the seventh.
OFF THE BAT:
- DiPrizio was 2-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI
- Junior first baseman Greg Emanuelson (Hudson, N.H.) was 1-3 with a triple
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will face Trine University in a single nine-inning game tomorrow at 10:00 AM.