WILLIMANTIC, CT - #8 Saint Joseph's (35-12, 11-3 GNAC) defeated #2 Wheaton College (34-10, 11-1 NEWMAC), 9-7, in an elimination game of the NCAA New England Regional Tournament on Friday evening. Ben Grant-Roy '10 (Biddeford, ME) went 4-5 with a run and two RBI and Chris Nanof '10 (Clinton, MA) earned his second victory of the day with four innings of one-run baseball.

The Monks have found their stride after dropping the tourney-opener to top-seeded Tufts University on Wednesday, having won three straight elimination games over #5 Worcester State, #3 Western New England and now second-seeded Wheaton. St. Joe's will look to continue the trend on Saturday, as the Royal Blue faces off against Tufts, who fell to #7 UMass-Boston 3-2 earlier today, at 1:00 PM.

Todd Keneborus '11 (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus) went 2-3 with a run and an RBI and robbed Paul Malaguti '10 (Andover, MA) of a bases-clearing extra base hit with a diving grab to close out the top of the eighth inning. Mike Pratt '13 (Dartmouth, MA) belted a three-run homer to deep left in the bottom of the third and Mike Burdin '10 (Gardiner, ME) went 2-5 with a run scored in the triumph.

Kevin Chamberlain '11 (Scarborough, ME) was brilliant in relief with four K's in 2.1 innings and Adam Stanclift '13 (Chesterfield, NH) collected his fifth save of the year with a punch-out and a hit allowed in 1.1 innings.

NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL RELEASE:

MANSFIELD, Conn. – Upstart eight-seeded St. Joseph's College (Me.) eliminated second-seeded Wheaton College with a 9-7 victory here tonight to close out festivities on the third day of the NCAA Division III regional hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University. With its win, St. Joe's joins once-beaten Tufts University and undefeated University of Massachusetts Boston in a three-way battle for a spot in the NCAA Division III World Series which starts Friday, May 28 in Appleton, Wisc. St. Joe's faces Tufts Saturday, May 22 at 1 p.m. for the right to take on UMB at 5 p.m. If UMB wins that contest, the Beacons will make the trip to Wisconsin. Should UMB fall in the 5 p.m. game, the same two teams will play again Sunday at 1 p.m. for the regional title.

The Monks rallied for five runs in the bottom of the 3rd to grab a 5-4 advantage. A three-run shot over the left-field fence by freshman third baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass.), his fifth of the season, capped the inning and put St. Joe's in the lead for good. Junior left fielder Ian Lee (Hampden, Me.) had driven in the first two Monk runs with a single to right-center, plating junior right fielder Todd Keneborus (Hollis Center, N.H.) and senior first baseman Ben Grant-Roy (Biddeford, Me.), both of whom had a hit. Senior designated hitter Pat Moran (Winterport, Me.), and Lee scored in front of Pratt. Four of the five runs were unearned due to a Wheaton error on the fourth Monk batter of the inning.

St. Joe's upped its margin to 8-4 in the 5th, scoring three more unearned runs. Despite a double into the right-field corner by senior Travis Adams (Saco, Me.) to open the stanza and a fielding error to put runners at first and second, Wheaton got a pair of fielder's choice outs, one at third and one at home, to keep it a one-run game with two outs. But the Monks were not to be denied as Keneborus was hit by a pitch with the bases full for an RBI and Grant-Roy put a perfectly placed grounder up the middle to knock in two more runs. It was the fourth straight single of the game for Grant-Roy.

St. Joe's manufactured a ninth run in the bottom of the 7th as senior center fielder Craig Woodbrey (Gorham, Me.) reached first after striking out on a wild pitch, moved to second on another wild pitch and eventually scored as senior second baseman Mike Burdin (Gardiner, Me.) drew a throw to second on an attempted steal, and got caught in a rundown. Burdin found his way safely back to first base as Woodbrey found the plate.

Wheaton had jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st, using four singles and a fielder's choice RBI to cash in for an early advantage. Alternating hits from leadoff sophomore center fielder Hal Landers (Salem, N.H.) , senior left fielder Paul Malaguti (Andover, Mass.) and senior catcher Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, Mass.) with outs, Lieneck drove in Landers for the 1-0 lead. When freshman shortstop Eric Jensen (Gorham, N.H.) ground a single up the middle, Malaguti scampered in from second base with the second tally. The third run was recorded when a grounder to third base by senior first baseman Jason Clucas (Peabody, Mass.) resulted in a fielder's choice rundown between second and third, but hustle by Lieneck allowed him to cross the plate before the out was posted.

A solo homer run to left field by Lieneck made it a 4-0 for Wheaton in the 3rd inning. It was his second round-tripper of the year as he finished the contest with three hits, three runs and two RBI. Also with three hits for the Lyons was junior right fielder Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.).
The Lyons added three runs to its total in the 8th to narrow the difference to 9-7. A sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter junior Eric Laliberte (Nashua, N.H.) made it 9-5 before a wild pitch with the bases loaded allowed Lieneck to score his third run of the game . A single up the middle by freshman designated hitter Sean Ryan (Norton, Mass.) brought home Jensen, who had singled. Perhaps the defensive play of the day for St. Joe's came from Keneborus in right field with the bases loaded and two outs to end the 8th inning. Malaguti smashed a liner toward the right field corner which could have given the Lyons back the lead if it landed but Keneborus made a tremendous diving snag to preserve the lead.

Freshman pitcher Adam Stanclift (Chesterfield, N.H.), who entered the game to get the final out in the 8th, stayed in to retire Wheaton in order in the 9th to post his fifth save of the season. Getting the victory with four innings of solid relief pitching was senior Chris Nanof (Clinton, Mass.), as he allowed just three hits and one run. Absorbing the loss was Wheaton starter junior Kevin Calabro (Andover, Mass.), who went the opening 4.2 innings. Only one of the eight runs he yielded was earned.