STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph’s (15-8, 4-2 GNAC) defeated regionally-ranked Bowdoin College (15-5), 7-3, at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Tuesday afternoon. Monks’ shortstop Chris Campbell ’11 (Rochester, NH) went 3-5 with two runs scored and reliever Chad Rafferty (Keene, NH) picked up the win after allowing two runs in three innings.
The Monks employed their “small ball” approach to rally from behind in the victory over the Polar Bears, who entered today’s contest tied for the top spot with Babson College in the latest New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Poll. Trailing 2-0 with just two hits in the first four innings, St. Joe’s utilized the bunting game to jumpstart the offense and scored three in the fifth and four in the seventh to earn the important in-region win.
The game looked to be a classic pitcher’s duel in the early going, as both teams recorded just one hit each in the first three innings. SJC starter Kyle Dorr ’10 (Berwick, ME) faced the minimum with three K’s in his three innings of work, while Bowdoin starter Joe Pace ’10 (Newburyport, MA) matched the St. Joe’s southpaw pitch for pitch, allowing one hit with six strikeouts in the first three frames.
Bowdoin scored the game’s first run off Rafferty with an RBI groundout in the top of the fourth by right fielder Joe Comizio ’11 (Vienna, VA). First baseman Dan Hicks ’11 (New York, NY) led off the frame with a bunt single, moved up two bases on a single by Brendan Garner ’11 (Swampscott, MA) and groundout by Brett Gorman ’11 (Bedford, NY), respectively, and scored when Comizio grounded out to second base.
The Polar Bears doubled their lead in their next turn, as second baseman Jordan Edgett ’12 (Lynn, MA) led off by doubling to left-center and scored three batters later when catcher Reid Auger ’10 (Billerica, MA) smacked a base hit through the left side.
Saint Joseph’s went on to score three in the bottom of the fifth, with the latter two crossing the plate on an unorthodox play. Third baseman Mike Pratt ’13 (Dartmouth, MA) singled to center to open the inning, catcher Travis Adams ’10 (Saco, ME) followed by legging out a bunt single and Campbell loaded the bases with a bunt hit of his own. Burdin put the Monks on the board with a safety squeeze play, scoring Pratt and moving Adams and Campbell up to second and third. Right fielder Todd Keneborus ’11 (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus), the team’s #3 hitter and RBI leader, stepped to the plate in an ideal spot, but Pace proceeded to uncork a wild pitch that went to the backstop, scoring Adams, with the ball coming to rest on top of the short brick wall behind home plate. Auger didn’t see where the ball landed, forcing Pace to leave the plate and grab the sphere from its perch himself. With home plate uncovered, Campbell scored the go-ahead run all the way from second base.
The Monks went back to the “small ball” approach to spur a four-run seventh and put the game out of reach for the visitors. Adams led off with a four-pitch walk and moved to third when Campbell bunted for a hit and Pace made an errant throw to first. Burdin plated Adams with a squeeze bunt and Campbell scored on a base hit to center by Keneborus to make it a 5-2 game. Designated hitter Pat Moran ’10 (Winterport, ME) drove Keneborus home with a double to right-center and scored on a base knock by left fielder Eric LaBatte ’11 (Rochester, NH) to put the Monks ahead, 7-2.
SJC reliever Adam Stanclift ’13 (Chesterfield, NH), who entered the game in the top of the seventh, saw his first offering of the eighth sail over the right-center fence, as Hicks belted a solo home run, his third long ball of the spring, to make it a 7-4 game. The freshman slinger settled in to retire the next six Bowdoin batters, with three punch outs, to close out the contest.
For Saint Joseph’s, Keneborus was 2-3 with a run and an RBI, LaBatte went 2-3 with an RBI and Adams scored a pair of runs. Dorr fanned three with a hit and a walk allowed in three innings before giving way to Rafferty, who scattered five hits with two earned runs allowed in three innings of work. Stanclift whiffed four with a run and two hits allowed in three frames to notch his first collegiate save.
For Bowdoin, Hicks was 2-4 with two runs and an RBI and shortstop Adam Marquit ’11 (New York, NY) went 2-3 in the losing effort. Pace suffered the loss after allowing six earned runs off nine hits with nine strikeouts in 6.2 innings and Evan Farley ’11 (Hampden, ME) tossed 1.1 scoreless frames with two hits allowed and a punch out.
Saint Joseph’s will host Framingham State on Thursday in a non-conference contest at 4:00 PM, while Bowdoin will host Thomas College on Friday at 3:00 PM.
