STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (25-9, 16-6 GNAC) finished off the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) docket with a pair of wins over Rivier University (14-20, 5-17 GNAC) at Richard W. Bailey Field on Sunday afternoon. The Monks opened the day with a 10-2 mercy-rule win and capped the twinbill with an 8-7 victory over the Raiders.
With the sweep and all results in for the remainder of the conference, Saint Joseph's – winners of the last four GNAC Championships – has earned the #3 seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament, which begins with a play-in game, featuring the 5-8 seeds, on Tuesday. The Monks begin postseason play with a quarterfinal contest, opponent TBD, at Albertus Magnus College on Friday afternoon. The remainder of the tournament will be hosted by top-seeded Suffolk University, site TBD, on Saturday and Sunday.
Prior to the start of today's doubleheader, a brief ceremony was held to honor the program's four seniors: Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus), Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine), Laura Jordan (Orrington, Maine) and Victoria Ramos (North Scituate, R.I.). This group has helped the Monks post a 126-37 (.773) record, including a 77-17 (.819) mark in GNAC play, with three GNAC Championships and a trio of NCAA Tournament appearances over the past four seasons and figure to challenge for a fourth conference crown next weekend.
GAME ONE
The Monks kicked off the day's scoring with four runs in the bottom of the first, when Hendrix roped a two-run triple to deep center and scored on an errant throw while sliding into third base and freshman Kelsy Gaddy (Limington, Maine) lofted a sac fly to right field, sending junior first baseman Melissa Mayhew (Hiram, Maine) home.
St. Joe's tacked on a run with the help of an error in the third and doubled up on a Rivier run in the top of the fourth with a pair in the bottom of the frame, as Hendrix doubled in Carla Tripp (Lovell, Maine) and later scored on a Mayhew single to left-center, making it a 7-1 game through four full frames.
The Raiders showed life with a run on a Tori Dugan (Norwalk, Conn.) single in the sixth, but Saint Joseph's went on to score three in the bottom of the inning to earn a mercy-rule triumph. Kim Jordan plated Tripp with a double and later scored, along with Hendrix, on a Mayhew base hit up the middle to account for the 10-2 final.
For the Monks, Hendrix was 3-4 with four runs, a pair of doubles, a triple and three RBI, Mayhew went 3-3 with a run and three RBI, and junior left fielder Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, N.H.) added a pair of singles in three at bats in the victory. Tripp registered three walks and scored three runs in the opener. Hendrix picked up the win in the circle and improved to 4-1 on the year after allowing two runs off five hits and four walks with seven K's in six innings.
Junior pitcher Libby Sammon (Rockland, Mass.) suffered the loss for the Raiders after yielding seven runs (four earned) off six hits and five walks with a strikeout over four innings while junior Jess Shanahan (Merrimack, N.H.) allowed three runs off three hits and a walk with a punch-out in 1.1 innings of relief.
GAME TWO
The closing contest had a very different feel, as the Raiders scored six runs off 11 hits over the first four innings and held a 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the fourth.
Rivier produced three runs off four hits in the second, when junior Lia Bobek (Hollis, N.H.) plated a pair with a single and scored when the following batter, Dugan, ripped a two-bagger.
The Monks and Raiders traded runs in their next turns at the plate, as junior second baseman Alyssa Wade (Peru, Maine) sent sophomore catcher Jennifer Murphy (Andover, Mass.) home with a single in the bottom of the second and freshman Emily Knoops (Tewksbury, Mass.) doubled home junior Kathryn Mostone (Pelham, N.H.) in the top of the third.
Pollini dropped down a successful squeeze bunt to score Jordan and make it a 4-3 game through three frames, but the Raiders earned a 6-3 cushion after Dugan doubled in Bobek and later scored on a single by sophomore Shaylyn Freitas (Pelham, N.H.).
The outlook was bleak as Rivier junior pitcher Taylor Miller (Haverhill, Mass.) sat the first two hitters she faced in the bottom of the fourth, but freshman Allie Pike (Buxton, Maine) ignited a rally with a two-out single up the middle and quickly scored when Jordan belted a triple off the wall in center. Hendrix knocked in her classmate with a single to right and, after stealing second base, scored the game-tying run when Mayhew singled to left.
The Raiders regained the lead with a run off three hits with two down in the top of the fifth, when sophomore Destiny Jordan (Lawrence, Mass.) singled, stole second, and raced home on a Bobek base hit to left-center. With runners on second and third and two out, freshly-entered reliever Danielle Egan (Waterboro, Maine) struck out junior Sam Verney (Goffstown, N.H.) to negate the threat.
Saint Joseph's proceeded to score two runs off a pair of hits and a Rivier error to claim an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the fifth. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Tripp singled in Wade and advanced 60 feet, along with Ramos, on a throwing error in the infield. Freshman reliever Jordan Parece (Pelham, N.H.) looked to work out of the jam by fanning Gaddy and forcing Jordan to pop out to short, but Hendrix and Mayhew followed with back-to-back walks, with the latter free pass coming with the bases loaded, allowing Ramos to trot home with the eventual winning run.
Murphy paced the SJC offensive attack by going 3-4 with a run and a double while Jordan was 2-4 with two runs, a triple and a pair of RBI and Wade went 2-4 with a run and an RBI. Egan improved to 4-3 on the season after tossing 2.1 innings of one-hit relief with four strikeouts.
For the Raiders, Dugan was 4-4 with a run, two doubles and two RBI, Bobek went 3-3 with a pair of runs, a triple and three RBI, Jordan was 2-4 with two runs and a two-bagger, and Knoops added two hits, a run, a double and an RBI in four at bats in the losing bid. Parace took the loss after giving up two runs off two hits and three walks with a strikeout in two innings of relief.
Saint Joseph's will travel to Biddeford, Maine on Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader versus University of New England. First pitch is slated for 3:00 PM. The Raiders have completed their 2015 schedule.
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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.
