NEWTON, MA – Saint Joseph's (7-3, 2-0 GNAC) swept Lasell College (0-12, 0-2 GNAC) with 3-0 and 13-3 victories in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader on Tuesday.
Game One:
The first game of the afternoon shaped up to be an outstanding pitching matchup, going scoreless through the first four innings. Maddie Kluna (Standish, ME) scattered three hits through the first four innings for the Monks, and Cassie Wadden (Brookfield, MA) battled out of a bases loaded one-out jam in the first before holding the visitors hitless through the next three innings.
After the visitors opened the fifth inning by getting two runners aboard, Connie Grovo (Limington, ME) and Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, ME) both knocked in runs with RBI singles, helping the Monks score three runs in the frame. Kluna held the Lasers hitless through the final three innings to pick up the 3-0 victory for SJC (ME), while Wadden took the loss for Lasell, yielding three runs on five hits while going the distance.
Grovo finished the opening game with three hits in four at-bats to lead the Monks offensive attack, while Denise Archetto (Cranston, RI), Jacqui Saluti (Braintree, MA) and Candace Hankard (Wakefield, MA) picked up a hit each for Lasell in the loss.
Game Two:
The second game of the doubleheader saw the Monks break open a close game in the fourth and cruise to a 13-3 victory. The Lasers got on the board first, picking up a run in the third inning, before St. Joseph's exploded for a six-run fourth inning to take command. After Emily Leverone (Hampton, NH) led off the inning with a double, Heather Tripp's (Lovell, ME) RBI double evened the score at 1-1. After a single and stolen base by Hendrix, put runners on second and third, Kluna ripped a 2-run double to center field, putting the Monks ahead 3-1. Maria Labbe (Lewiston, ME) drove home Kluna with a single to give the Monks a 4-1 edge and the visitors tacked on two more runs to cap their six run inning.
After a single and double to open the top of the fifth for St. Joe's, Hendrix homered to right-center field driving in three runs and putting the visitors ahead, 9-1. The Monks threatened to add more runs in the inning, before reliever Allyson Bermudez (Londonderry, NH) recorded a pair of strikeouts and induced a Grovo groundout to end the threat.
The Lasers picked up a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by Jacqui Saluti cutting the deficit to 9-2, but St. Joseph's answered back with four runs on five hits in the top of the sixth to push their lead to 13-3.
The Lasers scored one run in the bottom of the sixth, but were unable to mount a comeback from the big deficit, falling 13-3. Rae-Marie Copan (Newton, MA) picked up the win for the Monks, giving up eight hits and one earned run with four K's in six innings of work, while Alison Saluti (Braintree, MA) took the loss for Lasell.
Hendrix powered the Monks offense, collecting three hits, including a homerun and triple to drive in five runs in the game. Rachelle Haas (Middleton, MA), Talia DeChiara (Kingston, MA) and Denise Archetto each picked up a pair of hits for Lasell.
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's is now 10-4 in the history of the series with Lasell College. The Monks opened the 2012 campaign with three straight losses but has rebounded with seven consecutive victories.
St. Joe's looks to continue the winning ways when the team travels to Albertus Magnus College on Saturday for a conference two-game set slated to start at 6:00 PM.
COURTESY OF LASELL COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION
