STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (30-6, 23-3 GNAC) split a conference doubleheader with Norwich University (20-14, 15-11 GNAC) at Richard W. Bailey Field on Sunday afternoon. The Monks suffered a 2-1 setback in the opener and rebounded with a 9-0 mercy-rule victory in the nightcap to earn the split.

With the doubleheader results, Saint Joseph's has earned the #2 seed in the GNAC Tournament and will serve as a second-round host for the fourth consecutive season. Bailey Field will be the site of two second-round games on Friday, April 27th when #3 Simmons College plays the #7 Suffolk University/#6 Norwich University winner (Suffolk/Norwich game to be played Tuesday at Norwich) at 2:00 PM. St. Joe's will take on the Simmons/(Suffolk/Norwich) winner at 4:00 PM at Bailey Field on Friday.

GAME ONE

The first game of the day proved to be a pitcher's duel, with SJC senior Maddie Kluna (Standish, Maine) and Norwich freshman Corinne Baita (Rochester, N.H.) locking heads for seven frames. Both hurlers were excellent, but in the end it was Baita who came out with the victory after yielding one run off five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts. Kluna fell to 9-4 on the year after giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk with 10 K's in a losing bid.

All of the game's offense took place occurred in the fifth inning, when the Cadets plated two runs off three hits and the Monks scored one run off a pair of hits. Sophomore Maggie Walsh (North Plainfield, N.J.) led off the top of the fifth for the visitors by doubling down the right field line and scored two batters later when Abby Belcher (Winthrop, Mass.) singled to left field. Belcher would come around to score when the following hitter, sophomore first baseman Erin Clark (Bradford, Vt.), reached with a base hit.

St. Joe's immediately responded by cutting the deficit in half. Freshman third baseman Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) opened the bottom of the fifth with a double down the left field line and, after a pair of groundouts, would score on an Emily Leverone (Hampton, N.H.) single through the left side.

The final two innings cruised by as both pitchers were careful not to make a mistake. Norwich had a runner reach in both frames, as Baita hit a single in the sixth and Belcher worked a walk in the seventh, but was unable to pad the lead. Baita retired the SJC side in each of the last two innings to seal the Cadets' victory.

The Monks had prime scoring opportunities earlier in the game but failed to capitalize. Heather Tripp (Lovell, Maine) walked and Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) singled to give the hosts two on with nobody out in the second, but Baita hardened her focus and fanned the next three batters to snuff the threat. Kluna was at the plate with bases loaded and two out in the fourth but went down swinging as Baita came back from a 3-0 count. Saint Joseph's also stranded a pair in the bottom of the fifth.

Moore, 2-3 in a losing effort, was the Monks' only repeat hitter in the opening contest. Baita, 2-3 with a double, paced the Cadets' offense in the first game.

GAME TWO

Perhaps frustrated by the setback, the Monks wasted no time jumping out front in the nightcap as the hosts scored twice in the first and six times in the second en route to a 9-0 mercy-rule triumph to gain the split.

St. Joe's utilized two hits and two Norwich errors to score two runs in the first – both with two out. Leverone sparked the SJC offense with a single through the left side and Tripp reached on an infield miscue. The next batter, Moore, plated both runners with a single through the left side to give her team its first lead of the afternoon.

The bats came alive in the second as the Royal Blue put up a six-spot off eight hits to gain complete control of the contest. Senior Maria Labbe (Lewiston, Maine) led off with a base hit down the right field line and promptly scored on a Kluna double to right-center. Sophomore second baseman Connie Grovo (Limington, Maine) sent Kluna across the plate with a double to left-center and scored when the next hitter, Leverone, rapped a single up the middle, lifting her team to a 5-0 cushion. Tripp notched an RBI double and Moore launched a run-scoring triple and scampered home on a wild pitch to make it an 8-0 game in favor of the Monks.

Saint Joseph's closed out the game-scoring in the top of the fourth, when pinch-hitter Danielle Leavitt (Spruce Head, Maine) reached on an error and sprinted home on a passed ball, accounting for the 9-0 final.

SJC starting pitcher Kayla Vannah (Waldoboro, Maine) was dominant in the victory, scattering four hits with a walk and three K's to earn her eighth win of the season. The junior hurler has allowed just three earned runs over her last 31 innings and has seen her ERA drop to 1.16 with the impressive stretch.

Offensively, Moore went 2-2 with a run, a triple and three RBI, Leverone was 2-3 with two runs and an RBI, and Labbe tallied two hits in two trips and scored a run in the victory.

Norwich starter Kaylie Miller (Long Lake, N.Y.) took the loss after yielding nine runs (eight earned) off 11 hits and two walks with four K's in four innings. Belcher, the visitor's lone repeat-hitter, went 2-3 with a double in the nightcap.

Prior to the start of the contest Saint Joseph's held a brief ceremony to honor the program's five seniors: Kluna, Labbe, Leverone, Caitlin Schrum, and team manager Samantha Gray (Yarmouth, Maine). The Monks have posted an amazing 126-40 (.759) overall record, including an astounding 83-13 (.865) mark in GNAC play, over the past four seasons. With these individuals on board St. Joe's has made deep runs in the conference tournament in each of the past three years, including last spring when the team captured the GNAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament – both being program-firsts.

Saint Joseph's has now posted at least 30 victories for three consecutive seasons and seven different years overall. Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92, now in his 15th year as the SJC skipper, has recorded four 30-win seasons and owns a 352-242 (.593) career record as the Monks' winningest coach. 

Seniors Maddie Kluna, Caitlin Schrum, Maria Labbe and Emily Leverone

Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.