PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREL CLACE '25
STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (20-16, 8-2 GNAC) and Simmons University (22-14, 8-2 GNAC) split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball doubleheader at Richard W. Bailey Field on Saturday afternoon. The Sharks held on to win the opener by a 3-2 score and the Monks walked off with a 5-4 triumph in eight innings in the closing contest.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the split, the Monks, Sharks, and the Saints of Emmanuel College have completed their regular season schedules with identical 8-2 GNAC North Division records. The conference office will announce the 2023 GNAC Tournament bracket and explain the tiebreaker outcomes later this evening.
The tourney beings on Tuesday with a single-elimination play-in game, which pits the #3 and #4 seeds in both divisions against each other and continues with a quarterfinal round – hosted by the top seeds in each division – on Thursday. The top seed in the South Division will host the remainder of the tournament this weekend.
SENIOR MOMENT:
Prior to the start of the twinbill the Monks held a brief ceremony to honor and celebrate the achievements of the program's four seniors: Emily Eagleston (Reading, Mass.), Sydney Hatch (Newburgh, Maine), Olivia Howe (Arundel, Maine), Meredith Pence (Remington, Va.). All four players were four-year members of the SJC Softball program and will definitely be missed after the 2023 campaign comes to a conclusion.
SIMMONS 3, SAINT JOSEPH'S 2:
The Sharks all three of their runs in the top of the third, when junior Jordyn Rubin (Lewiston, Maine) posted an RBI single and later scored – along with sophomore Raya Anderson (Rollinsford, N.H.) – when senior catcher Shannon McMahon (El Cajon, Calif.) laced a double to left-center.
The Monks chipped away at the deficit with a run in the bottom of the fourth when freshman catcher Sadie Tirrell (Naples, Maine) singled and eventually scored on a Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine) fielder's choice. The hosts made it a 3-2 game when freshman Charlotte Cloutier (Lewiston, Maine) led off the bottom of the fifth with a base hit and crossed the plate on a Tirrell double to center field.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, St. Joe's had runners on second and third after Cloutier singled and sophomore pinch hitter Abby Carpenter (Bath, Maine) doubled to deep center, but the Sharks cut down the tying run at the plate on a safety squeeze attempt and recorded the final out on an infield pop-up.
IN THE CIRCLE:
SJC senior starter Meredith Pence (Remington, Va.) falls to 11-3 on the year after giving up three runs on 10 hits and six walks with six strikeouts in seven innings. Simmons senior hurler Maddie Castigliego (Bristol, R.I.) improves to 13-8 after yielding two runs on seven hits with four K's in seven frames.
AT THE BAT:
For St. Joe's, Tirrell was 2-4 with a run, a double, and an RBI and Cloutier went 2-3 with a run scored.
For Simmons, Rubin, McMahon, and Leah Connor (Broomfield, Colo.) recorded two hits apiece.
SAINT JOSEPH'S 5, SIMMONS 4 (8 INN.):
In the nightcap, the Monks trailed 4-0 going into the bottom of the fifth when the hosts plated three on four hits and a Simmons miscue. Sophomore Paige Connery (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and Cloutier reached with singles, and both scored on an outfield error on a fly ball hit by Tirrell. Freshman second baseman Hannah Gosselin (Biddeford, Maine) also reached with a base hit and scored the Monks' third run when senior Olivia Howe (Arundel, Maine) roped a single through the right side.
St. Joe's tied the game at 4-4 with a run on two hits in the bottom of the sixth, when Carpenter delivered the tying run on a sacrifice fly.
The stalemate stood until the bottom of the eighth, when Connery was placed on second via international tiebreaker rule and sprinted home on a Cloutier double down the left field line.
IN THE CIRCLE:
SJC senior starter Emily Eagleston (Reading, Mass.) did not factor into the pitching decision after giving up four runs (three earned) off eight hits with a pair of K's in five innings. Senior Sydney Hatch (Newburgh, Maine) picked up the win after tossing three scoreless innings with three strikeouts over three frames of relief.
Simmons first-year starter Piper Kinney (Marlborough, Mass.) allowed four unearned runs on seven hits with four punchouts in 5.2 innings and first-year hurler Emily Deleault (Manchester, N.H.) suffered the loss after allowing a run off four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings.
AT THE BAT:
For Saint Joseph's, Cloutier was 3-4 with a run, a double, and an RBI, Howe went 3-4 with a double and an RBI, and Connery was 2-4 with two runs scored.
For the Sharks, McMahon was 2-3 with a pair of RBI.
