STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (9-5, 2-2 GNAC) swept Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Simmons College (7-9, 4-2 GNAC) in the Monks' 2011 home-opening twinbill at Ward Park on Thursday afternoon. Maddie Kluna '12 (Standish, ME) fanned 10 in the first game, a 10-3 win, and Kiera Walsh '11 (Benton, ME) scattered five hits in the nightcap, a 3-2 SJC triumph.
GAME ONE
Trailing 2-1, the Monks' bats exploded for eight runs in the third and fourth frames to alter the outcome of the opener. Third baseman Heather Tripp '13 (Lovell, ME), who went 2-3 with three RBI, recorded a two-run double and shortstop Lindsay Moore '14 (Barrington, NH) notched an RBI single during the four-run third inning.
Second baseman Connie Grovo '14 (Limington, ME), center fielder Emily Leverone '11 (Hampton, NH), designated hitter Jill Howard '14 (Rochester, NH) and Tripp registered an RBI apiece to lift the Royal Blue to a 9-3 cushion after four innings of play.
Howard plated Grovo, who reached on a dropped third strike, with a single in the bottom of the fifth to cap the game scoring.
For the Monks, Moore went 3-3 with two RBI, Grovo was 2-4 with two runs and an RBI, first baseman Alyssa Dunn '11 (Standish, ME) notched a 2-3 effort with a double and a run scored, and Leverone scored two runs.
For the Sharks, shortstop Annie Thompson '11 (Pacific Palisades, CA) was 2-3 with two doubles, a run and an RBI, first baseman Emily Cunningham '14 (Cotuit, MA) went 2-4 with a run and an RBI, and designated hitter Emily Colligan '11 (Leominster, MA) chipped in with a 2-3 effort at the plate.
Kluna improves to 4-1 on the young season after surrendering seven hits, two walks and three earned runs in the complete-game effort. The victory was the 20th of her career.
Simmons starting pitcher Courtney Collier '11 (Bolton, MA) was chased after allowing nine runs on nine hits and three walks in 3.2 innings and suffered the loss. Relievers Sami Hodgkins '12 (Putney, VT) and Kate Breslin '14 (Westford, MA) combined to yield on run on three hits and two walks with a pair of K's in 2.1 innings of mop-up duty.
GAME TWO
The Monks came out swinging in the first inning when the hosts scored twice on three hits and a Simmons miscue to secure an early lead. Leverone plated right fielder Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, VT), who reached with a single, and later scored on a Howard single to make it a 2-0 game after the hosts' first turn at the bat.
The Sharks cut their deficit in half with a run in the top of the third when Thompson, who led off the frame with a double, scored on a Cunningham base knock.
Thompson knotted the game at two-apiece with two-out RBI double in the top of the fourth. Collier, who walked to lead off the inning, scored on the play.
Saint Joseph's answered immediately by scoring the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Moore led off with a walk, was pushed to second with a sac bunt by Howard, moved to third when left fielder Jordan VanRosendael '14 (Limington, ME) grounded out to third, and scored on a Shufelt single.
For the Monks, Leverone went 2-3 with two doubles, a run and an RBI, Shufelt was 2-4 with an RBI, and Dunn went 2-3. Walsh improved to 2-2 on the year after allowing five runs and six walks while fanning a pair in a complete game performance.
Thompson was the Sharks' lone repeat hitter and went 2-3 with two doubles, a run and an RBI in the setback. Collier was 1-2 with a run and a double for the visitors.
Simmons starter Sammi Letizio '11 (Windham, NH) took the losing decision after allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk in 4.0 innings. Hodgkins fanned two and allowed a pair of hits in two innings of relief work.
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's improves to 9-2 in the history of the series with Simmons. The Monks have now defeated the Sharks in seven consecutive meetings.
Dunn and Leverone became the eighth and ninth players, respectively, to surpass the 150-career-hit mark in the twinbill. Dunn now has 153 hits in 130 games while Leverone has recorded 152 in 97 career contests.
Saint Joseph's will play four conference games on the road this weekend, beginning with a two-game set at Pine Manor College on Saturday. The Monks cap the trip with a twinbill at St. Joseph (CT) on Sunday. First pitch is slated for 12:00 PM both days.
