The Monks and Gulls were slated to play two seven-inning games this afternoon, but the second game was called due to heavy rain in the top of the first. St. Joe's led 4-0 with one out and a runner on first when play was suspended. The two New England Region clubs will attempt to make up the contest at some point this week.
Rafferty was perfect through the first three innings, a span during which the righthander tossed only 28 pitches, and saw his no-hitter bid halted when Endicott third baseman E.J. Martinez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) slapped a double down the left field line to lead off the sixth inning.
The Monks scored their first run of the 2012 season in the bottom of the third when senior shortstop Dan Achorn (Bow, N.H.), who reached on an error, scampered home on a single rapped by sophomore designated hitter Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.).
Saint Joseph's tacked on two more in the bottom of the fourth to secure a 3-0 advantage. Sophomore left fielder Alex Lorenc (Nanuet, N.Y.) reached with a single and later scored on a botched first and third play and Achorn plated sophomore third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine), who singled, with a base knock of his own.
The Monks would add another pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Junior center fielder Sam Butts (Saco, Maine) led off with an infield single and scored when junior first baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass.) doubled to right-center. Up next was freshman catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.), who drove Pratt across the plate with a sharp single to center.
Rafferty's lone blemish on the afternoon occurred in the top of the sixth when Martinez, a left-handed hitter, led off with a double to left and the next two batters, shortstop Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.) and second baseman Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, Mass.), worked walks. With cleanup hitter Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.), Rafferty was able to induce a slick 4-6-3 double play while Martinez crossed the plate for the Gulls' lone run of the afternoon.
For St. Joe's, Coyne went 2-3 with a double and an RBI, Sanborn was 2-3 with a run, and Pratt went 1-3 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. Senior reliever Andrew Devereaux (Hope Valley, R.I.) struck out one batter in a scoreless seventh frame.
Endicott senior pitcher Benjamin Petrides (Belchertown, Mass.) was hit with the loss after surrendering five runs off nine hits and a pair of walks over 5.2 innings. Reliever Taylor English (Barre, Vt.) retired the only batter he faced in the bottom of the sixth.
With the win Saint Joseph's improves to 9-3 in the history of the matchup with Endicott College. Prior to this afternoon, the Monks and Gulls had not met on the diamond since March 26, 2006 when St. Joe's defeated Endicott by an 8-2 margin.
The Monks have now won three consecutive season-opening contests. Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 now sits in a tie with former SJC men's basketball Head Coach Rick Simonds for the SJC Athletics all-time victories record with 503.
Saint Josephs' will face Framingham State University in a twinbill tomorrow morning starting at 9:00 AM while Endicott is slated to take on Bowdoin College in a doubleheader set to begin at 10:00 AM.
