STANDISH, ME – Junior pitcher Maddie Kluna (Standish, ME) tossed a six-inning perfect game in the opener and sophomore outfielder Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, VT) went 6-7 with four runs for the Monks (27-7, 17-3 GNAC) in a doubleheader sweep over Lasell College (9-27, 9-13 GNAC) at Richard W. Bailey Field on Friday afternoon.
Kluna, who threw only 49 pitches, sat down all 18 batters she faced in the mercy-rule-shortened opener and fanned four to improve to 11-3 on the season. The truncated perfect game is the second of her career as Kluna threw five spotless innings against Albertus Magnus as a freshman.
GAME ONE
St. Joe's scored twice in the opening frame to secure an early lead. Shufelt led off the bottom of the first for the Monks and trotted home when Emily Leverone '12 (Hampton, NH) drilled a double two batters later. Alyssa Dunn '11 (Standish, ME) followed suit with the hosts' third two-bagger of the inning, scoring Leverone, to make it a 2-0 game.
Saint Joseph's went on to added four runs off five hits in the fourth to extend the advantage to 6-0. Connie Grovo '14 (Limington, ME) and Leverone both drove in runs and Jill Howard '14 (Rochester, NH) knocked in a pair during the frame.
Shufelt contributed an RBI single in the fifth and Lindsay Moore '14 (Barrington, NH) added a run-scoring base knock in the sixth to conclude the contest.
For the Monks, Shufelt went 4-4 with two runs, an RBI and a double, Dunn was 2-4 with an RBI and a pair of two-base hits, and Howard added a 2-4 effort with two RBI. Moore was 2-4 with a run and an RBI and Maria Labbe '12 (Lewiston, ME) tallied two hits and two runs in three plate appearances.
Lasell starting pitcher Alyson Bermudez '14 (Londonderry, NH), now 1-3 on the season, yielded eight runs off 15 hits and a pair of walks in the loss.
GAME TWO
Saint Joseph's opened the nightcap by scoring two runs off three hits in the first inning. Howard and Moore both notched RBI singles to lift the Royal Blue to an early cushion.
The Lasers' futility at the plate continued until the fourth inning when Kirsten Mammola '11 (North Reading, MA) doubled to center field with two out. The two-base hit ended an 0-29 slump by the visitors.
The SJC sticks cooled a bit after the quick start as the Monks did not touch the plate again until the sixth inning when the hosts tallied three runs off four hits. Grove plated a pair with a single and Leverone added an RBI base hit to account for the 5-0 final.
SJC game-two starter Rae-Marie Copan '14 (Newton, MA) allowed just three hits and struck out three to improve to 5-2 on the year. Shufelt continued to swing a hot bat and went 2-3 with two runs and a stolen base in the nightcap while Leverone, Howard and Moore chipped in with two hits apiece in the triumph.
Lasers starting pitcher Alison Saluti '13 (Braintree, MA) falls to 4-7 on the season after yielding five runs off 11 hits and a pair of walks in six innings. The sophomore hurler fanned six batters in a losing effort.
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's improves to 9-4 in the history of the series with Lasell College. The Monks have defeated the Lasers in seven consecutive meetings dating back to the 2008 campaign.
Saint Joseph's will play a GNAC twinbill at Norwich University tomorrow at 1:00 PM, while Lasell is set to host Mount Ida College tomorrow in a conference doubleheader at 12:00 PM.
