LAKELAND, FL – Saint Joseph's (8-1) rallied from a 4-2 deficit to defeat #18 Western New England University (3-2) by a 9-4 margin in what was the Monks' final spring break contest in the Sunshine State on Saturday morning.
Trailing by two after three and a half frames, St. Joe's proceeded to cut the deficit to one with a score in the bottom of the fourth and added three runs in the fifth to gain the lead for good in the battle between the New England Region heavyweights. The Golden Bears, ranked 11th in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll, advanced to the NCAA DIII World Series after winning the New England Regional Tournament last spring.
The Monks received a gutty pitching performance from sophomore starter Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine), who allowed four runs off four hits, an error, a hit batsman and a balk in the first two innings but settled in for four scoreless frames before yielding to sophomore righty Joe Gruntkosky (Peabody, Mass.) in the top of the seventh. The Golden Bears reached base six times in the first two innings but Sanborn and Gruntkosky combined to allow only six batters to reach over the last seven innings of play.
Sanborn earned his second win of the week after fanning six with three earned runs allowed off five hits and a pair of free passes over six innings of work. Gruntkosky was dominant, striking out four batters with a hit and a walk allowed in the final three frames to collect his first save of the year.
The contest seemed destined to be a slugfest in the early going as the Golden Bears plated a run off two hits in the top of the first and the Monks countered by taking the lead with two scores in the bottom of the opening inning. Freshman Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) singled to drive in junior center fielder Nate Martin (Chebeague Island, Maine), who reached via hit by pitch to lead off the frame, and sophomore left fielder Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) plated junior second baseman Brandon Chase (Naples, Maine), who worked a walk, with a base knock to lift the Royal Blue to a 2-1 edge.
The offensive theme continued in the top of the second when Western New England scored three runs to stake a 4-2 cushion. Junior Tim Clark (West Springfield, Mass.) opened the frame with an infield single and scored two batters later when junior Taylor Perun (Plainville, Conn.) laced a double to left-center. Junior Kyle McKelvey (Schenectady, N.Y.) was awarded first base after being plunked by an errant Sanborn offering and crossed the plate on a misplayed fly ball and Perun trotted home on a Sanborn balk to lift the Golden Bears to a two-run lead.
The Monks threatened in their next turn at the bat as the Royal Blue loaded the bases with one out, but WNE junior starter Kevin Jefferis (Cheshire, Conn.) managed to fan consecutive hitters to escape unscathed.
Both lineups went silent over the following one and a half innings as neither team was able to muster a hit during the scoreless span.
The complexion of the contest began to change in the bottom of the fourth when St. Joe's began to make adjustments with the bat and scored a run off two hits to cut the deficit down to 4-3. With two out, Chase worked an eight-pitch at bat into a free pass and the following SJC hitter, Coyne, ripped a single up the middle. Junior first baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass.), 0-2 with a pair of strikeouts at the time, came up and drove a 1-0 pitch to center for a single, scoring Chase to make it a one-run game.
With Sanborn holding the Golden Bears' bats in check, Saint Joseph's went on to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth to secure a 6-4 lead. Freshman catcher Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus) and sophomore right fielder Alex Lorenc (Nanuet, N.Y.) opened the frame with back to back singles and senior third baseman Dan Brown (Portland, Maine/Deering) moved both of his teammates up a bag with a sac bunt. WNE Head Coach Matt LaBranche then removed Jefferis in favor of freshman righthander Trevor Breton (Enfield, Conn.), who quickly uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Lops to score the game-tying run. Senior shortstop Dan Achorn (Bow, N.H.) worked a walk and Martin sent Lorenc scrambling home for the go-ahead run with a groundout to short. Chase made it a 6-4 game in the Monks' favor when he plated Achorn with a triple to deep right-center.
Saint Joseph's went on to break the game open with three runs off three hits and a WNE error in the bottom of the seventh inning. Achorn and Martin notched RBI singles and Coyne drove home a run with a well-hit double to left-center to give the Monks a comfortable 9-4 cushion.
Gruntkosky made short work of the Golden Bears' lineup in the last two innings, striking out three batters including pinch-hitter Brian Speer (Orange, Conn.) for the final out of the contest.
For the Monks, Coyne went 3-4 with a double and two RBI, Chase was 2-3 with two runs, a triple and two RBI, Achorn added two hits, two runs and an RBI in four trips to the plate and Martin chipped in with two runs, two RBI and a stolen base in the victory.
Clark was the lone Golden Bears repeat-hitter, having gone 2-4 with a run scored in the losing effort. Jefferis was hit with loss after allowing five runs off eight hits and three walks in 4.1 innings of work.
Saint Joseph's is off until Friday, March 23rd when the Monks travel to Roger Williams University for a single nine set to begin at 3:30 PM.
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.
