PATCHOGUE, NY – Saint Joseph’s (6-5) split a pair of games with St. Joe’s (L.I.) on Sunday, winning the opener, 7-0, and falling 6-5 in the nightcap. In the first game, Sam Murray ’12 (Walpole, MA) tossed a complete-game shutout with four strikeouts and six hits allowed in the win and Nate Martin ’13 (Chebeague Island, ME) was 2-3 with two RBI and a pair of stolen bases in the second-game loss.
The Monks led 2-0 after five innings in the first game and padded their lead with four runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to take the 7-0 triumph. St. Joe’s held a 5-1 advantage over the Golden Eagles after five frames in the nightcap, but the hosts managed to score three in the bottom of the sixth and two more on a two-out seeing-eye single in the seventh to send the Monks home with a split.
GAME ONE
Golden Eagles starter Ron Eichhorn ’10 (Sayville, NY) held the Monks to just one hit over the first five frames, as a two-out, two-run double by second baseman Mike Burdin ’10 (Gardiner, ME) plated Todd Keneborus ’11 (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus) and Travis Adams ’10 (Saco, ME) in the second inning. The only SJC baserunner to reach during the middle innings was first baseman Ben Grant-Roy ’10 (Biddeford, ME), who was plunked by an Eichhorn fastball to lead off the fourth inning.
The Monks broke through with four runs, all with two out, in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach with Murray dealing. Adams hooked a double down the right field line to plate Kyle Neagle ’12 (Lisbon Falls, ME) and Eric LaBatte ’11 (Rochester, NH) and later scored on a single by Nick Saunders ’13 (Brooksville, ME).
In the top of the seventh, Monks’ shortstop Chris Campbell ’11 (Rochester, NH) doubled to right to send Martin scrambling across the plate and close out the game scoring.
Campbell was the only player for either team to record multiple hits and was 2-4 with an RBI, while Adams scored two and drove home a pair in the win.
GAME TWO
The SJC offense got off to a hot start in the nightcap, as the Monks registered five runs on seven hits in the first three innings off Golden Eagles starter Frank Tucker ’10 (Shirley, NY).
Keneborus put the Royal Blue on the board with a bases-loaded fielder’s choice, scoring left fielder Sam Butts ’13 (Saco, ME), in the first frame.
The Monks added two more in their second turn against Tucker, as Martin narrowly missed his first NCAA long ball with a double off the left field wall to send Burdin and Mike Pratt ’13 (Dartmouth, MA) across the plate.
The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to 3-1 with a run off Monks’ starter Chad Rafferty ’13 (Keene, NH) in the second inning. Mark Cisek ’10 (Sayville, NY) plated Nick Rizzo ’11 (Massapequa, NY) with an RBI base knock with two out to make it a 3-1 game.
In the top of the third, St. Joe’s continued to hit Tucker hard and added two more runs with an RBI triple from Keneborus and a sacrifice fly from designated hitter Pat Moran ’10 (Winterport, ME) before chasing the starter from the game.
Right-hander Ryan Scarisbrick ’13 (Massapequa, NY) replaced Tucker with two out in the third inning and allowed just one hit with three K’s in 4.1 innings of relief. Only three SJC runners reached base with Scarisbrick on the hill, with two stranded and the other erased by a double play.
With their young reliever keeping the vaunted Monks offense at bay, the Golden Eagles lineup went to work and chipped away at the 5-1 lead. The hosts plated three in the bottom of the sixth off a trio of Monk relievers, making it a 5-4 game.
The Monks appeared poised to add a much-needed run to their lead in the top of the seventh, as the swift Martin notched an infield single and promptly swiped second base. With two out and Jon Dahms ’12 (Gorham, ME) at the plate, Martin stole third easily, but a questionable call negated the play as Dahms was called out for batter’s interference.
SJC closer Andrew Keirstead ’10 (Westbrook, ME) managed to induce a pair of groundouts to open the bottom of the seventh, but soft singles by Prateek Thaman ’12 (Hauppauge, NY) and Seth Pileggi ’12 (Smithtown, NY) set the stage for Paul Marino ’10 (Centereach, NY), who slapped a single between Burdin and Grant-Roy on the right side to score both runners and end the game.
For the Monks, Grant-Roy was 2-3 with a run scored and Rafferty fanned three with two hits and an earned run allowed in four innings of work. Kevin Chamberlain ’11 (Scarborough, ME) was efficient in relief, as the righty allowed one hit with a pair of groundouts in a scoreless frame of relief.
Saint Joseph’s will host Rivier College in a GNAC doubleheader on Saturday, March 27th with the first pitch scheduled to be thrown at 12:00 PM.
