STANDISH, Maine – Sophomore Taylor Owen (Wakefield, Mass.) singled home the winning run with two out in the bottom of the ninth to lift #3N Saint Joseph's (18-16) past #4N Rivier University (13-25) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball tournament play-in game at Richard W. Bailey Field on Tuesday afternoon.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the win, Saint Joseph's advances to the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will face #2N Simmons University on Thursday at 4:30 PM. Emmanuel College, the top seed in the North Division, will serve as the 2022 tourney host for two games on Thursday and all contests on Saturday and Sunday.
For Rivier, the loss signals the end of the 2022 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Raiders secured a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Courtney Marioles (Hudson, N.H.) tripled to right and scored when the next batter, Sarah Frazier (Londonderry, N.H.), grounded out to short.
The 1-0 edge remained until the Monks scored three runs with two out in the bottom of the fifth. With runners on second and third, senior second baseman Ashley Emery (Madison, Maine) tied the game with a single and later scored, along with freshman Paige Connery (Tyngsboro, Mass.), when first-year shortstop Rebecca Fleming (Belmont, N.H.) doubled to left.
Rivier managed to tie the game with single runs in the top of the sixth and seventh innings. In the former, Frazer singled to left and later scored on a Giavanna Allsop (Belmont, N.H.) sac fly and, in the latter, senior Nicole Capra (Windham, N.H.) doubled and scored the tying run on a single off the bat of sophomore Kayla Miles (Londonderry, N.H.).
The Raiders had a runner in scoring position in both the eighth and ninth innings, but SJC junior starter Meredith Pence (Remington, Va.) worked her way out of both jams to help set the stage for the walk-off win.
In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore center fielder Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine) led off with a double to left center but looked to be stranded as Rivier junior starter Nicole Verrette (Haverhill, Mass.) sat down the next two batters. Owen saved the day with the clutch hit to lift the Monks to their first postseason win since the Royal Blue defeated Johnson & Wales in an elimination game exactly three years ago.
IN THE CIRCLE:
- Pence improves to 9-6 on the season after allowing three runs on nine hits with nine strikeouts over nine innings; the junior southpaw fanned Marioles in the top of the sixth to notch her 100th strikeout of the season – becoming the first SJC pitcher to reach the century mark since Madylan Kluna '12 fanned 109 batters in 2012
- Verrette fell to 5-13 after allowing four runs on 10 hits with five punch-outs in 8.2 innings
OFF THE BAT:
- Goodnough went 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs
- Connery was 2-for-4 with a run
- For Rivier, Miles went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI and Micayla Bourski (Pawtucket, R.I.) was 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base
