NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Saint Joseph's College (19-15, 7-1 GNAC) swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball doubleheader at Norwich University (4-22, 2-8 GNAC) on Wednesday afternoon. The Monks opened with a 6-1 triumph and notched a five-inning 9-1 victory in the nightcap to complete the sweep.
SAINT JOSEPH'S 6, NORWICH 1:
The Monks plated single runs in the second and third innings while sophomore Paige Connery (Tyngsboro, Mass.) delivered an RBI double and scored on a sophomore Rylee Page (Somersworth, N.H.) single in the top of the sixth to lift the visitors to a 4-0 advantage.
The Cadets got on the board in the bottom of the sixth when Maren McGinn registered an RBI single, but the Monks put the game to rest with two runs in the top of the seventh, when senior Emily Eagleston (Reading, Mass.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and freshman Charlotte Cloutier (Lewiston, Maine) lofted a sac fly to account for the 6-1 final.
SJC senior Meredith Pence (Remington, Va.) improved to 11-2 on the season after giving up one run on three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in a complete-game effort. Norwich starter Allison Northrup falls to 1-8 after allowing six runs (four earned) on 11 hits and a pair of walks in seven innings.
Junior centerfielder Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine) was 3-4 with a triple and a pair of runs scored while Connery, Olivia Howe (Arundel, Maine), and Sadie Tirrell (Naples, Maine) added two hits apiece in the victory.
SAINT JOSEPH'S 9, NORWICH 1 (5 INN.):
In the nightcap, Howe put her team on the board with a two-run homer in the top of the first and the visitors doubled their lead in the third when Goodnough tripled Howe home and scored on a Page groundout.
A McGinn RBI single in the bottom of the third made it a 4-1 game, but the SJC bats exploded for five runs on five hits with the help of a pair of Norwich errors to eventually earn the mercy rule triumph. Howe launched her second two-run blast of the game and Tirrell rapped an RBI single while the Royal Blue scored two runs on an outfield miscue during the fourth.
Eagleston earned her fifth win of the season after yielding a run off six hits with eight strikeouts in five innings. McGinn took the loss after allowing nine runs (seven earned) on 10 hits and three walks in four innings. Norwich reliever Kennedy White struck out one batter in a scoreless inning of work.
Howe led the SJC offensive attack by going 2-2 with three runs, two homers, and four RBI while Tirrell was 2-3 with two runs and an RBI and sophomore Sylvia Foley (Scarborough, Maine) went 2-3 with a run scored.
For Norwich, McGinn and Laura Deaton posted two hits apiece.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's improves to 29-6 in the history of the series with Norwich University and has now defeated the Cadets in 10 consecutive meetings dating back to the 2018 campaign.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Simmons University in a GNAC doubleheader on Saturday at 12:00 PM. Prior to the first pitch, the Monks will pay tribute to the program's four seniors with a brief ceremony of recognition.
