AUBURNDALE, FL – Saint Joseph's College (8-4) split a doubleheader with Wartburg College (6-6) in 2014 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational action on Saturday morning. The Monks began the day with a 5-2 victory over the Knights and fell, 7-2, in the nightcap.
GAME ONE
Saint Joseph's clicked on all cylinders in the first game, as the Monks rattled off 14 hits and senior hurler Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) was dominant on the hill, fanning 10 batters while allowing two runs (one earned) off five hits and a walk over seven innings.
The Monks trailed early however, as the Knights struck first with an unearned run in the bottom of the second. Sophomore center fielder Ryan Kemp (Keokuk, Iowa) reached on an infield error to lead off the frame and quickly scored the game's first run when junior catcher Blake Wilson (Bettendorf, Iowa) tripled to right field, lifting the 2013 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champions to a 1-0 edge.
Saint Joseph's proceeded to put up five runs on seven hits – all singles – in their next turn to take the lead for good. Junior first baseman Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus), junior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.), sophomore designated hitter Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine), senior third baseman Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) and sophomore second baseman Zack Graham (Marlborough, Mass.) all rapped RBI base hits during the five-run third inning.
Wartburg managed to tack on another run off two hits and an SJC miscue, as Kemp singled and later scored on a Michael Schinstock (Urbandale, Iowa) base hit. The Knights had two runners on with two out in the inning, but Sanborn squelched the threat by fanning Tyler Mougin (Walford, Iowa).
For the Monks, Reuillard was 3-4 with a run, a double and an RBI while Lops, Coyne, Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) and Louie Vigars (Stratham, N.H.) recorded two hits apiece in the victory.
Sophomore starter Alex Steines (Dubuque, Iowa) suffered the loss for Wartburg after allowing five runs off 10 hits with three K's in five innings. Junior reliever DJ Utley (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) scattered four hits with a trio of punch-outs over two frames of effective relief.
GAME TWO
Unfortunately, the Monks' trip ended with a loss, as the Knight scored all seven of their runs in the first three innings to put the game out of reach early. Saint Joseph's, which out-hit Wartburg by an 11-10 margin, did have chances to creep back into play, but could not come up with the big hit and stranded nine runners in the losing bid.
Markakis was 2-3 and McCoomb went 2-4 with a run scored in the loss. Senior starter Nick Whittaker (Yarmouth, Maine) took the loss after yielding seven runs off nine hits and four walks with eight K's in five frames. Freshman Thomas Fortier (Falmouth, Maine) was highly effective in relief, striking out three with a walk and a hit allowed in two innings of work.
Schinstock allowed two runs off 11 hits with a pair of strikeouts in a complete-game victory for the Knights.
The twinbill caps the 2014 spring trip for Saint Joseph's, which played four games during the first weekend in March and eight contests while the College was on spring break this week.
Saint Joseph's returns to New England tomorrow and will next play at Roger Williams University on Friday, March 21st at 3:30 PM.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
