Monks Post Pair of Mercy-Rule Wins in Florida

Monks Post Pair of Mercy-Rule Wins in Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (7-1) posted a pair of mercy-rule victories, toppling Wilmington College (4-6), 11-1, and handling Rockford University (2-6), 13-5, in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Thursday.

Saint Joseph's 11, Wilmington 1

The Monks racked up 12 hits and sophomore pitcher Kylie McFadden (Dover, N.H.) allowed one run off seven hits and a pair of walks over six innings in a convincing victory over the Quakers in the day's opening contest.

The game stood at a 1-1 stalemate after two full innings, but Saint Joseph's closed out the game with 10 unanswered runs over the final four frames, starting with three­ runs off a pair of hits in the top of the third. Senior left fielder Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) drove in a pair with a bases-loaded single and junior first baseman Melissa Mayhew (Hiram, Maine) scored on a wild pitch to lift the Royal Blue to a 4-1 advantage.

The Monks proceeded to tack on a run in the fifth and six more in the sixth to account for the 11-1 final score.

Saint Joseph's featured five repeat hitters in the victory, a quintet led by Hendrix, who was 2-3 with a run and three RBI, and Mayhew, who went 2-3 with a pair of runs and an RBI. Senior third baseman Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) went 2-4 with two runs scored, junior right fielder Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, N.H.) was 2-3 with a run and a double, and sophomore catcher Jennifer Murphy (Andover, Mass.) went 2-5 with a run and an RBI in the victory.

Saint Joseph's improves to 2-0 all-time versus Wilmington, a team the Monks had not faced since 1996 prior to this afternoon.

Saint Joseph's 13, Rockford 5

The Monks continued to swing the sticks in the second game of the day, as the Royal Blue totaled 16 hits in what was the team's fourth mercy-rule shortened contest of the Spring Break trip.

Rockford claimed a short-lived lead with a run in the first, but Hendrix put her team up with one swing in the bottom of the opening frame, as the senior slugger jacked a long two-run homer over the right field wall to make it a 2-1 game after one inning.

In the bottom of the second, Saint Joseph's put up a seven spot off six hits and a Rockford error. Freshman catcher Alyssah Dennett (Augusta, Maine) drove in two runs with a single, Hendrix notched an RBI base hit, and sophomore shortstop Mariah Harrison (Buxton, Maine) tripled home a pair during the Monks' big inning.

The Regents managed to score four runs off five hits and two SJC miscues in the top of the fourth, making it a 9-5 game, but the Monks scored four off six hits in the bottom of the fifth to enforce the mercy rule with the 13-5 final. Jordan recorded an RBI triple and scored on a Mayhew base hit, Hendrix sent a run home with a ground-rule double to right, and sophomore Casidee Couture (Jay, Maine) recorded a run-scoring single to end the game.

Nine different Saint Joseph's players tallied at least one hit in the lopsided victory, with Hendrix again leading the offensive effort by going 3-4 with two runs, four RBI, a double and a home run. Mayhew was a perfect 3-3 with three runs and an RBI, Dennett also went 3-3 with two runs and two RBI, and freshman Shannon Laubauskas (Mexico, Maine) was 2-3 with a run in the triumph.

Freshman pitcher Allie Pike (Buxton, Maine) earned the victory after allowing five runs (one earned) off eight hits with four walks over 3.2 innings in her first collegiate start. Freshman Abigail Murphy (Randolph, Mass.), who entered with two on and two out with the Monks leading in the top of the fourth, collected her first NCAA save after tossing 1.1 innings of impeccable relief.

The Monks are now 4-2 all-time versus Rockford and have defeated the Regents in four-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2008 season.

Saint Joseph's closes out the Florida trip with games versus Nazareth (9:00 AM) and Curry College (11:00 AM) tomorrow. 

 

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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.