STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (21-10, 10-2 GNAC) swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) twinbill with Emerson College (9-22, 1-9 GNAC) at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Monday afternoon. Senior right fielder Todd Keneborus (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus) went 6-8 with two runs and three RBI in the two-game set.
GAME ONE
The Monks scored five runs off six hits in the first inning of the opener to set the tone for the day. Keneborus plated Chris Campbell '11 (Rochester, NH) with a triple to start the scoring and Dan Brown '12 (Portland, ME/Deering) rapped a two-run double during the five-run first.
First baseman Mike Pratt '13 (Dartmouth, MA) increased the SJC advantage to 6-0 with an RBI single in the fourth and the hosts put up another five-spot off five hits in the fifth to take a commanding 11-0 lead.
The Lions got on the board when designated hitter Kolby Woodfield '13 (West Hartford, CT) hit a solo home run off Monks reliever Jimmy Kennedy '13 (York, ME) in the top of the seventh.
Saint Joseph's tallied 18 hits and six players recorded multiple-hit performances in the 10-run win. Campbell was 4-4 with two runs, a double and an RBI and Keneborus went 3-4 with a run, a triple and two RBI. Freshman designated hitter Alex Lorenc (Nanuet, NY) went 2-4 with a double and two RBI while Pratt, Ian Lee '11 (Hampden, ME) and Sam Butts '13 (Saco, ME) all had two hits in the triumph.
Monks starting pitcher Mason Roberge '11 (Franklin, NH), now 4-1 on the season, scattered four hits and fanned a pair over five innings. Sean Drake '13 (Lebanon, NH) worked a scoreless sixth inning and Kennedy closed out the contest with one run allowed in the seventh.
For Emerson, Woodfield was 3-3 with the solo homer and center fielder James Sullivan '14 (Medfield, MA) went 2-4 in the loss. Lions starter Connor McDonough '13 (Hanson, MA) fell to 2-5 on the year after yielding 11 runs (nine earned) off 14 hits and two walks in four innings. Reliever Andy Brightman '14 (North Wales, PA) worked two scoreless innings with two K's and four hits allowed.
GAME TWO
St. Joe's captured an early lead again in the nightcap by scoring four runs off four hits and an Emerson miscue in the bottom of the second inning. Freshman catcher Willie Brown (Fayette, ME) pushed across the game's first run with his first NCAA hit, a single up the middle, and Dan Achorn '12 (Bow, NH), Campbell and Keneborus all followed with RBI base knocks to put the hosts up 4-0.
SJC left fielder Alex Markakis '14 (Lynnfield, MA) drove home three runs with a bases-clearing single in the fourth and Cody Hadley '14 (Norway, ME) knocked in Lorenc, who reached with a double, with his first collegiate hit – a single to right – in the bottom of the sixth to make it an 8-0 game.
In the top of the seventh, Lions left fielder Peter Maltzan '11 (Lexington, MA) singled to center and scored two batters later when third baseman Cal Ciarcia '14 (Kingston, MA) grounded out to second base.
For the Monks, Keneborus went 3-4 with a run and an RBI and Markakis was 2-3 with three RBI. Starting pitcher Sam Murray '12 (Walpole, MA) worked three scoreless, and hitless, innings with a pair of strikeouts and Nick Whittaker '14 (Yarmouth, ME) improved to 2-1 on the year with two scoreless frames in relief. Chris Dion '11 (Lawrence, MA) and Kyle Neagle '12 (Lisbon Falls, ME) worked the sixth and the seventh innings, respectively.
Emerson starter Brandon Topp '13 (Andover, MA) allowed seven runs (six earned) off eight hits in 3.1 innings and fell to 1-4 on the year. Brightman allowed one run off three hits and fanned three in 2.2 innings of relief.
With the sweep, St. Joe's improves to 8-0 in the history of the series with Emerson College. The Monks have now won at least 20 games in seven consecutive seasons and 20th time in program history.
Saint Joseph's will play at Southern Maine on Wednesday at 4:00 PM. Emerson hosts Norwich University in a GNAC doubleheader on Friday at 3:00 PM.
