Photo courtesy of Blue Egg Images

STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (27-8, 12-2 GNAC) won a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball games versus Colby-Sawyer College (6-23, 3-11 GNAC) at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Friday afternoon. The Monks opened with a 6-0 triumph and rallied to defeat the Chargers, 7-5, in the nightcap.

SAINT JOSEPH'S 6, COLBY-SAWYER 0

Saint Joseph's kicked off the opener with a run off three hits in the bottom of the first, when senior shortstop Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) singled to left field, stole second, and later scored on a Greg Emanuelson (Hudson, N.H.) base hit.

The 1-0 edge remained until the bottom of the fourth, when sophomore center fielder Hunter Richardson (Monmouth, Maine) and second-year third baseman registered two-out RBI singles.

In the bottom of the fifth, junior second baseman Drew Healey (Rochester, N.H.) doubled home Emanuelson and later scored on a two-out single off the bat of senior catcher Anthony DiPrizio (Rochester, N.H.).

The Monks tacked on their sixth and final run on one swing in the bottom of the sixth, when senior right fielder Jared Gagne (Dover, N.H.) hit a line-drive home run just over the wall in right field.

Five of the Monks' six runs were scored with two out.

ON THE MOUND:

• Sophomore Zach Begin (Georgetown, Mass.) was dominant with six strikeouts in four innings of relief to pick up the win and improve to 4-0 on the season
• Freshman Johnathan Flynn (Holden, Mass.) started the contest and was lifted after allowing three hits and two walks over three frames
• Colby-Sawyer freshman starter Derek Griffin (Lebanon, N.H.) falls to 2-3 on the year after giving up five runs off 10 hits with a pair of K's over 4.2 innings
• Freshman reliever Jack Cahill (South Berwick, Maine) allowed Gagne's solo homer and two hits overall with one strikeout in 1.1 innings

OFF THE BAT:

• Gagne went 2-4 with a run, a double, a home run, a stolen base, and an RBI
• Emanuelson was 2-3 with a run, a double, and an RBI
• Healey doubled and was 2-3 with a run and an RBI
• DiPrizio added a pair of singles, a stolen base, and an RBI in three plate appearances
• For the Chargers, sophomore second baseman Alec Burns (Enosburg Falls, Vt.) was 2-3 with a pair of singles

SAINT JOSEPH'S 7, COLBY-SAWYER 5

From the hosts' standpoint, the second game of the day was not nearly as smooth as the first, as the Monks faced a 4-1 deficit after the Chargers plated four runs off three hits and two SJC errors in the top of the third.

With one out freshman starter Matt Bergeron (Salem, N.H.) lost command of a first-pitch fastball that hit Colby-Sawyer first baseman – and #9 hitter - Ryan Cummiskey (Billerica, Mass.) in the ribs. The following batter, junior right fielder Tim Unczur (Danvers, Mass.) hit a grounder to short that looked to be a tailor-made double-play but took a bad hop and hit the SJC shortstop – Murphy – in the neck.

With runners on first and second and one out, senior center fielder Austin Butler (Saunderstown, R.I.) squared to bunt and the result was a soft liner that landed between Bergeron and freshman third baseman Ronan Chisholm (North Chatham, Mass.) to load the bases. The following batter, senior shortstop Brendan Barrett (Nashua, N.H.), hit a soft comebacker off the end of the bat to Bergeron, who looked to start the 1-2-3 double play but lifted his head at the last moment, allowing the tying run to score.

With the bases juiced Unczur scored on a passed ball to make it a 2-1 game. Sophomore designated hitter Charlie Danaher (Guilford, Conn.) came up and hit a grounder to the right of Murphy, who had to hurry the throw and the one-hopper could not be corralled by senior first baseman Noah McDaniel (Eliot, Maine). The play, ruled an E6, allowed the Chargers' third run to cross the plate.

Sophomore catcher Danny McCrystal (Londonderry, N.H.) capped the third-inning scoring with a well-placed RBI single to shallow right field.

Now trailing 4-1, St. Joe's chipped away at the deficit with a run off three hits in the bottom of the third, as McDaniel knocked in Emanuelson – who tripled to the warning track in straightaway center field – with a base hit.

Saint Joseph's finally broke through with a big inning in the bottom of the fourth with five runs off five hits. The Monks opened with four-consecutive singles, with the last knock a line drive to left that delivered Chisholm across the plate. Junior Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) – who made his 2019 debut today after suffering an injury during indoor practice – hit a sac fly to center, allowing sophomore Kevin Aylward (East Bridgewater, Mass.) to score the tying run.

Later in the fourth, Murphy scored on a wild pitch, Gagne trotted home on a balk, and Healey scampered across the plate on a McDaniel two-bagger to make it a 7-4 game.

The Chargers added a run off two hits in the sixth, but squandered an opportunity in the seventh when Unczer walked and was thrown out – for the second time in the game – trying to steal second base.

ON THE MOUND:

• Bergeron improves to 6-1 on the season after allowing four runs (one earned) off five hits with five strikeouts over five innings
• Sophomore Jonathan Marchia (Chicopee, Mass.) gave up a run off two hits and three walks with one punch-out in 1.2 frames
• Freshman Matt Poff (Pelham, N.H.) picked up his first career save after sitting down the only batter he faced – on one pitch – in the top of the seventh
• Colby-Sawyer freshman starter Kaelen Close (Greenfield, Mass.) suffered the loss and falls to 0-3 after yielding six runs off 10 hits and two walks in 3.1 innings
• Sophomore Kyle McShera (Barnstable, Mass.), Cahill, and sophomore Owen Cottle (Harwich, Mass.) combined to give up a run off three hits and two walks with two K's in 2.2 innings of work

OFF THE BAT:

• Gagne went 4-4 wit ha run, a stolen base, and an RBI
• Emanuelson was 2-4 with a run and a triple
• McDaniel added two hits, a double, and two RBI in four at-bats
• Chisholm went 2-2 with a run, a two-bagger, and an RBI
• For the Chargers, Unczur was 2-3 with a run and McCrystal went 2-3 with a run and an RBI

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Today's contests between Saint Joseph's College and Colby-Sawyer College were the first-ever between the institutions' respective baseball programs. The Colby-Sawyer is a first-year member of the GNAC after competing in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) for the last seven years.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will play at Bowdoin College on Monday at 4:30 PM.