GORHAM, Maine - Saint Joseph's College and University of Southern Maine split a non-conference softball doubleheader Thursday afternoon at Towers Field. Saint Joseph's took the 6-1 win in the opener, before the Huskies battled back for a 9-1 win in the second game.
Picking up the win in the second game, Southern Maine halted a six-game losing streak to improve its overall record to 16-14. The Monks are 22-8 with the split.
GAME ONE
In the opener, Saint Joseph's used a combined pitching effort from starter junior Erica Boulanger (Somersworth, N.H.) and relievers freshman Abigail Murphy (Randolph, Mass./Ursuline Academy) and sophomore Danielle Egan (Waterboro, Maine/Massabesic) to hold the Huskies to just four hits and one earned run. Boulanger pitched the first three innings, striking out three and walking one while yielding a single hit before being lifted in favor of Murphy in the fourth. Murphy pitched the fourth and fifth innings allowing one earned run on two hits. Egan took the win to improve to 3-2 firing two innings of scoreless relief striking out two while allowing one hit and one walk.
SJC took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first junior Melissa Mayhew (Hiram, Maine/Sacopee Valley) had an RBI single to right field scoring freshman Alyssah Dennett (Augusta, Maine/Cony). Dennett reached safely with a one-out ground rule double to left-center.
The Monks made it 3-0 in the top of the third, scoring both runs with two outs on timely hitting from Mayhew and senior Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus). Mayhew collected her second RBI of the game with an infield single, while Hendrix doubled to score Mayhew.
SJC took control of the game in the top of the fourth to lead USM 5-0 as freshman Kelsy Gaddy (Limington, Maine/Bonny Eagle) crushed the first home run over her intercollegiate career over the center field fence for two runs. USM took one back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from sophomore Samantha Crosman (South Berwick, Maine/Marshwood), but the Monks answered with an RBI single from Hendrix in the top of the fifth to remain ahead by five runs 6-1.
With Egan in the circle, SJC kept the Huskies off the scoreboard for the win. USM sophomore Desiree Benner (Friendship, Maine/Medomak Valley) took the loss allowing five earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks. She struck out two in four innings. Benner was replaced by freshman Amber Kelly (Berwick, Maine/Noble) to start the fifth. Kelly allowed one earned run over three innings yielding four hits and two walks, while striking out two.
GAME TWO
Freshman Erika Millett (Whitefield, N.H./White Mountains Regional) earned her ninth win of the season holding the Monks to just two hits over six innings of work. Millett, who allowed two walks, set a career and season high of nine strikeouts besting her previous record of six in the victory.
The Huskies' offense buoyed Millett pounding out 14 hits, including five for extra bases. Freshman Courtney Davis (Woburn, Mass.) was 3-for-4 with four RBI, while classmate Taylor Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy) was also 3-for-4 with three runs scored from the lead off spot. Junior Mary Caron (Lewiston, Maine/St. Dominic's) and sophomore Danni Humphrey (Walnut Creek, Calif./Northgate) each drove in a pair of runs. Caron was 3-for-4 with two runs scored including a double and a triple, while Humphrey added a double.
After a scoreless first USM touched SJC starter freshman Alli Pike (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) for their first run of the game in the bottom of the second on a two-out double from Crosman. With one down, Kelly laced a triple to right field to start the Huskies' rally. A sharply line ball to second base ended Humphrey's at-bat to make it two-down with a runner on third before Crosman belted her fourth double of the season to center field for a 1-0 USM lead.
The Huskies tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third on Caron's RBI double and an RBI single from Davis to lead the Monks 3-0. Following a scoreless fourth, Saint Joseph's trimmed the USM advantage to 3-1. The Monks took advantage of a USM throwing error to earn a lead off base runner and an RBI double to the left field gap from freshman Katherine Collette (Rumford, Maine/Mountain Valley). With a Collette on second an no outs, Millett was able to work her way around the error limiting the damage retiring the next three batters in order on an infield pop up and a pair of strikeouts.
USM blew the game open in the bottom half of the fifth scoring five runs on four hits to lead 7-1. The Huskies' scored their first two runs on three straight hits. Lux led off the inning with a single to left field and scored on a Caron triple, before Caron touched home plate on an RBI single from Davis. The Huskies' final two runs of the inning crossed home on Humphrey's two-run double to the right field gap scoring Kelly and senior Kristen Duross (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy).
Millett took care of the Monks in order in the top of the sixth on a ground out, a strike out and a pop up, before Davis ended the game in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run single to center field to invoke the eight-run rule.
Pike took the loss allowing three earned runs on five hits in three innings to stand at 1-1 on the season. Sophomore Kylie McFadden (Dover, N.H.) pitched 2.0 innings allowing four earned runs on six hits, before being replace by senior Laura Jordan (Orrington, Maine/Bangor) in the sixth. Jordan did not record an out, giving up a pair of earned runs on three hits.
Southern Maine remains at home and will face Keene State in Little East Conference action on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) for its next contest. Saint Joseph's College also plays again on Saturday and will host Suffolk University in a GNAC doubleheader (12:00 p.m.).
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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 474-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.
