CLERMONT, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (4-2) split a pair of close contests in the NTC Spring Games at Hancock Park on Wednesday. The Monks opened the day with a 2-1 loss at the hands of WPI (4-2) and defeated Austin College (9-10), 4-2 in eight innings, in the nightcap.
WPI 2, Saint Joseph's 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
The New England rivals traded runs off bases-loaded walks in the first inning, as junior catcher Lindsay Gurska (Revere, Mass.) put the Engineers on the board with a free pass in the top and freshman designated player Kristal Smith (Pittston, Maine) sent a run home without swinging the stick to tie the contest, 1-1, in the bottom of the first frame.
WPI had a chance to regain the lead in the top of the fourth with runners on second and third and one out, but Monks freshman shortstop Meghan Elliott (Blackstone, Mass.) helped slam the door by cutting down pinch runner Kylie Juarez (Elk Grove, Calif.) at the plate on an Ama Biney (Worcester, Mass.) ground ball and junior starter Kylie McFadden (Dover, N.H.) induced a harmless groundout to cease the threat.
Saint Joseph's squandered a golden opportunity in the bottom of the sixth. Elliott led off the inning and reached on an infield error before moving to second on a Melissa Mayhew (Hiram, Maine) sac bunt. The following batter, junior catcher Jennifer Murphy (Andover, Mass.), ripped a single to left-center and Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92 waved Elliott home for what could have been the go-ahead run, but Biney, the Engineers' center fielder, delivered a strike to the plate to prevent the run from scoring. Murphy moved to second on the play and sprinted to third when Smith roped a base hit to right but was left stranded 60 feet from home.
The Engineers plated the eventual winning run off one hit and a pair of SJC errors in the top of the seventh. With one out, sophomore RiAnna May (Westminster, Mass.) reached on an infield error and scored when the next batter, Caraline Wood (Averill Park, N.Y.), hit a line drive single that was misplayed in the outfield.
The Monks were unable to assemble a scoring threat and went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh.
LEADERS – Saint Joseph's
- Murphy was the Monks' lone repeat hitter and went 2-2 with a walk in the loss
- McFadden suffered the hard-luck loss despite allowing one earned run off nine hits and three walks with five strikeouts in the complete-game effort
LEADERS – WPI
- Wood went 4-4 and Nina Murphy-Cook (Roseville, Calif.) was 2-4 with a pair of stolen bases
- Senior pitcher Clare Doolin (Newton, Mass.) picked up the win in the circle after yielding one run off five hits and a pair of walks with nine strikeouts
NOTEWORTHY
For McFadden, the loss is the first of her collegiate career, as the junior entered today's game with a 10-0 record in 11 NCAA appearances.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 1-2 all-time versus WPI, a team that earned an at-large berth into the 2015 NCAA DIII Tournament and won three Regional contests before being ousted by eventual National Champion Tufts University in Super Regional play. Today's matchup was the first on the softball diamond between these two teams since the Monks tipped the Engineers, 1-0, on March 11th, 2010.
Saint Joseph's 4, Austin 2 (8 inn.)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Fresh off a truly difficult loss, the Monks were forced to pick up their gear and move to a different field within the complex for a game versus an unfamiliar opponent in Austin College.
Undaunted, Saint Joseph's wasted no time grabbing the lead with a run off a hit and an Austin miscue in the top of the first. Freshman second baseman Katie Chadbourne led off the game with a single to left and hustled to second when the throw to the infield was delayed. The first-year infielder moved to third on a wild pitch and later scored when junior Mariah Harrison (Buxton, Maine), who singled, stole second and the catcher's throw was off the mark.
Making her second collegiate start in the circle, Smith sat the first six batters she faced before issuing a walk to senior Mary Whitworth (Junction, Texas) to start the third. As leadoff walks often do, the free pass resulted in a run for the opposition as Whitworth moved to third on a pair of groundouts and scored on the Kangaroos' first hit - a Raquel Vara (Houston, Texas) single to left – tying the game at 1-1.
The two teams combined to produce just four baserunners over the next four innings as the contest headed for extra play. The Monks made up for lost time by scoring three runs off three hits and an error to claim a 4-1 cushion in the top of the eighth. With Chadbourne placed on second by way of the international tiebreaker rule, Harrison strode to the plate and sent her teammate home with a double down the left field line. Two outs quickly followed before Murphy sliced a two-bagger down the left field line to send Harrison across the plate. Sophomore Emilie Duggan (Newfield, Maine) replaced Murphy at second and raced home when the next batter, senior left fielder Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, N.H.), doubled to deep left field, making it a 4-1 game.
The Kangaroos managed to tighten the collar in the bottom of the eighth. With Whitworth placed on second, Sophia Hernandez (Irving, Texas) came to the plate and reached on an infield error, allowing her teammate to advance to third. With runners on the corners and nobody out, a double steal was attempted and Hernandez, caught in a rundown, was tagged out while the Monks, owning a three-run cushion, allowed Hernandez to score. Now with the bases clear and one out, Smith recorded the final two outs on harmless flies to clinch the victory.
LEADERS – Saint Joseph's
- Chadbourne went 2-3 with a pair of runs and a sac bunt
- Harrison added two hits, a run, a double, and an RBI in four at-bats
- Smith improved to 2-0 on the season after allowing one earned run off four hits and a walk with two K's over eight innings
LEADERS – Austin
- Vara, who was 2-4 with a two-bagger, an RBI, and a stolen base, was the Kangaroos' lone repeat hitter
- Junior pitcher Victoria Herrera (Houston, Texas) suffered the loss after giving up four runs (two earned) off seven hits and a walk with seven punch outs in eight innings
NOTEWORTHY
Today's victory over Austin is the first versus a team from Texas in the history of Saint Joseph's College Athletics…previously, St. Joe's had played Texas-based institutions in women's basketball (Wayland Baptist, 1987 & Tarleton State, 1992) and volleyball (University of Dallas, 2002) with all three contests resulting in losses…
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's faces a pair of tough opponents tomorrow in Aurora University (11:00 AM) and Moravian College (1:00 PM). Both programs advanced well into the NCAA Tournament last spring and Moravian is ranked 19th in the nation in the latest NFCA Poll.
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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.