STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (21-3, 11-1 GNAC) split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader with Albertus Magnus College (12-11, 5-7 GNAC) at Richard W. Bailey Field on Saturday afternoon. The Monks saw their 14-game winning streak come to an end with a 7-4 loss in the opener and rebounded with a 10-2 victory – in five innings – in the nightcap.

The 14-game streak, which counts as the fourth-longest in program history, began with a 6-2 triumph over UMass.-Dartmouth in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on March 14th in Fort Myers, Florida. For Albertus Magnus, the opening victory is the first in 14 games versus Saint Joseph's.

GAME ONE – Albertus Magnus 7, Saint Joseph's 4

The Monks began the scoring with a run off four hits and an Albertus error in the bottom of the first, as junior third baseman Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) led off with a single and crossed the plate on a misplayed sac bunt attempt by Connie Grovo (Limington, Maine).

The lead quickly vanished however, as the Falcons responded with a pair of runs off three hits in the top of the second. Shortstop Carli Matrisian (Milford, Conn.) ignited the rallywith a leadoff single, moved to second on a Veronica Hribko (East Haven, Conn.) bunt and scored when Rachel Cataudella (Shelton, Conn.) doubled to left-center. Elaina Maio (West Haven, Con.) plated Cataudella with a sacrifice fly to center, lifting the visitors to a 2-1 edge.

Saint Joseph's responded in their next turn, reclaiming the lead with two runs off three hits and a pair of Albertus miscues in the bottom of the second. Freshman catcher Jennifer Murphy (Andover, Mass.) singled up the middle, advanced to third on an error, and scored on a Jordan base hit to knot the game. The speedy Jordan, who moved to second on a throw to home plate, promptly swiped third and scampered home on an overthrow to provide the hosts with a 3-2 advantage.

The Falcons continued the seesaw trend by putting up three runs off three hits and a costly SJC miscue in the top of the third. Right fielder Brittney Urciuoli (Newington, Conn.) led off with a double and eventually scored on an infield error. First baseman Amanda Jessey (East Haven, Conn.) reached via base hit and later stole home to score the visitors' fifth run and designated player Devon DeLall (Redding, Conn.) singled and wound up crossing the plate on a sac fly off the bat of third baseman Veronica Hriibko (East Haven, Conn.), making it a 5-3 game.

In the fourth, Urciuoli notched an RBI single and later scored on a Jessey two-bagger to left field, extending the Albertus Magnus lead to 7-3.

The SJC bats cooled after productive first and second innings, as the Royal Blue saw just two runners reach base in the third, fourth and fifth frames combined. The Monks showed life in the sixth when senior left fielder Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) led off with a triple down the right field line and was driven home on a Melissa Mayhew (Hiram, Maine) groundout, but the scoring play turned out to be the hosts' last gasp in a 7-4 setback.

For the Monks, Hendrix was 3-3 with a run and a triple, Jordan went 2-4 with two runs and an RBI and senior Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) added a pair of hits in four at bats in the loss. Senior starter Rae-Marie Copan (Newton, Mass.) suffered her first loss of the season, falling to 10-1 after yielding seven runs (five earned) off eight hits with a strikeout in 3.2 innings. Freshman pitcher Danielle Egan (Waterboro, Maine) was effective in relief, tossing 3.1 frames of two-hit ball to close out the contest.

For the Falcons, Urciuoli was 2-4 with two runs, a double and an RBI, Jessey went 2-4 with a run scored a double and a run batted in, and Matrisian added a pair of singles and a run in four at bats. Starting pitcher Brianna Longley (Milford, Conn.) allowed four runs (one earned) off 10 hits and fanned one batter in a complete-game effort to improve to 6-4 on the season.

GAME TWO – Saint Joseph's 10, Albertus Magnus 2 (5 innings)

The Monks managed to salvage a split with the help of 15 hits – including five doubles – and a solid pitching performance from junior hurler Laura Jordan (Orrington, Maine), who claimed her fourth victory of the season after allowing a pair of unearned runs off five hits with three K's in five innings.

Saint Joseph's took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, as freshman shortstop Danica Gleason (South Portland, Maine) Hendrix scored on a doubled to left-center by freshman left fielder Mariah Harrison (Buxton, Maine).

In the third, Gleason reached via fielder's choice and later scored on a Mayhew double down the left field line, making it a 3-0 game.

Carla Tripp (Lovell, Maine) provided the Monks with some unconventional offense in the fourth, when the freshman catcher led off with a bunt single and came around to score on a pair of Albertus errors on the same play.

With only three hits through four innings, the Falcons punched through in the fifth, scoring twice off a pair of base knocks and a Saint Joseph's error to cut their deficit down to 4-2. With one out, Urciuoli walked and scored on a misplayed ball hit by Jessey, who scored herself on a DeLall base hit to left field.

The Monks would break the game open in the fifth, scoring six runs off eight hits to secure the mercy-rule victory. Sophomore right fielder Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, N.H.) plated a pair with a double to deep left-center, Jordan drove home two with a single, Grovo produced a run-scoring base hit and Hendrix closed out the game, sending Grovo home on a double to left-center.

Saint Joseph's featured six repeat-hitters in the nightcap as Moore, Gleason, Mayhew, Harrison, Pollini and Tripp produced two hits apiece in the eight-run win.

Matrisian was 2-3 and was the only Albertus player to record multiple hits in the setback. Freshman pitcher Megan Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) took the loss after allowing 10 runs (nine earned) off 15 hits in 4.2 innings for the Falcons.

Both teams return to action facing conference opponents tomorrow, when Saint Joseph's travels to Nashua, N.H. for a twinbill versus Rivier University (12:00 PM) and Albertus Magnus hosts Anna Maria College (1:00 PM).

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.