WATERVILLE, ME - Saint Joseph's (19-9, 9-1 GNAC) defeated Colby College (5-13), 14-11, on Monday afternoon in a game that featured six lead changes and four home runs on a gusty day at Coombs Field. Ben Grant-Roy '10 (Biddeford, ME) became the fifth player in team history to collect five hits in a game, having gone 5-5 with two doubles and three runs scored in the see-saw affair. In all, the Monks registered 22 hits and seven different players had multiple base knocks, including Mike Burdin '10 (Gardiner, ME), who belted his third home run of the year to lead off the third inning. Reliever Chris Nanof '10 (Clinton, MA) collected the win to improve to 2-3 on the year and Chris Dion '11 (Lawrence, MA) tossed the final two innings to notch his first save of the season.

Burdin's towering solo blast to open the third provided the Monks with their first lead of the afternoon, but the Mules answered by scoring four in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-1 lead. Craig Cooper '09 (Trumbull, CT) plated two runs with a double and Kyle McKay '09 (Bedford, NH) followed with a two-run long ball to account for the early offensive support for Colby starter Mark Collins '12 (Sudbury, MA).

As it turned out, however, the Monks forced Colby Head Coach Dale Plummer to delve into his bullpen with two outs in the fourth after they scored four runs off five hits to regain the lead. All the offense was accomplished with two out, as Chris Campbell '11 (Rochester, NH) drove home two runs with a single and, after swiping second, scored on a Wade Oliver '09 (Owls Head, ME) two-bagger. Ian Lee '11 (Hampden, ME) plated Oliver with a base hit before Plummer called on Tim Brettingen '10 (Madison, CT), who escaped the inning unscathed after yielding a Grant-Roy single.

SJC starter Andy Pooler '09 (Southwest Harbor, ME) saw his second career start cut short after allowing a pair of solo home runs to John Lerner '11 (Canton, MA) and Richard Newton '11 (Arlington, MA) in the bottom of the fourth. Shawn Hall '10 (West Newfield, ME) entered the game in relief and fanned two batters to close out the inning with Colby now on top, 6-5.

St. Joe's managed to regain the one-run cushion by scoring two runs in the top of the fifth off Todd Keneborus '11 (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus) and Campbell singles.

Hall held the Mules in check in the bottom of the frame and the Monks increased their cushion to 8-6 when Keneborus plated Grant-Roy with a sacrifice fly to center in the top of the sixth.

Colby fired back with three runs off four hits and one Saint Joseph's error in the bottom of the sixth. Taro Gold '12 (Belmont, MA) and Mike Doherty '12 (Lynnfield, MA) recorded RBI singles in the frame, as the hosts led 9-8 heading into the seventh.

The Monks' second four-run inning of the afternoon ensued, as the Royal Blue took advantage of five hits and a perfectly executed safety squeeze play to retake the lead, 12-9. Burdin jumpstarted the inning with a leadoff double and moved to third when Campbell singled. This set the stage for Oliver, who dropped a perfect bunt down to plate Burdin and tie the game at nine-apiece. Lee followed with a base hit to send Campbell scrambling home and scored himself on a Grant-Roy double. After Pat Moran '10 (Winterport, ME) was intentionally walked for the second time in the game, Keneborus followed with an RBI single, scoring Grant-Roy, to cap the inning scoring with the visitors holding a three-run lead.

Two scoreless half innings followed before the Mules sent two runs across the plate to make it a one-run game. After allowing two singles to start the eighth, Nanof was lifted in favor of Dion. McKay greeted the southpaw with a single and Doherty worked a walk with the bases juiced to plate the first run. Lerner followed with a sac fly to right to score Ryan Conlon '10 (Ridgefield, CT), but Dion worked his way out of the jam with a ground out and a punch out.

Now ahead 12-11 and the wind still blowing out to left with force, the Monks felt the pressure to pad their lead in the top of the ninth. St. Joe's did just that, as Grant-Roy doubled and later scored on a balk by reliever Abhimanyu Chandel '12 (Columbus, NJ) and Moran was plated by a Keneborus base knock to lift the visitors to a 14-11 advantage.

St. Joe's has posted at least 20 hits in four different games this season after notching five in the last nine seasons combined. No team during that span has reached 20 hits in a game more than once during a season. The walk issued by Pooler to Cooper in the first inning snapped a streak of 31 consecutive innings in which the SJC staff had not dealt a free pass. With the victory, Saint Joseph's has defeated Colby six straight times. The Mules last defeated the Monks, 13-7, at Larry Mahaney Diamond on April 6th, 2000.

For the Monks, Campbell went 3-5 with two runs and three RBI's, Keneborus was 3-5 with a pair of runs and a career-high four runs batted in and Lee notched his 13th multiple-hit effort of the year with a 3-5 performance to go with two RBI's. Oliver was 2-5 with a double and two RBI's, Burdin collected two hits in five tries with two runs scored and Travis Adams '10 (Saco, ME) chipped in with a 2-6 effort.

Hall allowed one earned run with four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings and Dion allowed two hits, no earned runs to go with two walks and two K's in two innings pitched.

For Colby, John LaMantia '10 (Gates Mills, OH), Cooper and McKay recorded three hits apiece, and Gold and Newton both had two hits in the losing effort. The Mules used five pitchers against the Monks, with Nick Ruocco '10 (Lexington, MA) taking the loss after allowing four runs off five hits in 1 1/3 innings.

Saint Joseph's will host Thomas College in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday at 4:00 PM. Colby will play at Southern Maine on Wednesday at 4:00 PM.