STANDISH, ME - #2 Saint Joseph's College (22-12, 11-3 GNAC) toppled #1 Suffolk University (19-12-1, 12-2 GNAC), 9-2, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Tournament Semifinal matchup at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Saturday afternoon.
After a scoreless first inning, Saint Joseph's jumped on Suffolk starting pitcher Jonathan Richard (North Reading, Mass.) to the tune of three runs off five hits in the top of the second. Saint Joseph's put the game out of reach in their next turn, when senior third baseman Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) launched a three-run homer as part of a five-run third frame.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's clinches a spot in the GNAC Championship for the seventh-consecutive season and will face either Suffolk or #4 Johnson & Wales University – which tipped #3 Lasell College, 7-5 in 10 innings earlier in the day – in the title tilt at 2:30 PM on Sunday. The Rams and Wildcats face off in an elimination game at 11:00 AM tomorrow.
The Monks tacked on an additional run in the seventh when Markakis tripled to right field and scored on a perfectly executed safety squeeze bunt dropped down by freshman first baseman Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.).
The Rams finally solved SJC starting pitcher Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) in the bottom of the seventh, when the tourney favorites scored twice on a pair of doubles. Senior Jack Sullivan (Hamilton, N.Y.) entered the game as a pinch hitter and promptly roped a lead-off double to left field and scored two batters later on a two-bagger off the bat of junior designated hitter JC Collette (Amesbury, Mass.).
With runners on second and third and nobody out, Sanborn was lifted in favor of sophomore Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.), who minimized the damage with three quick outs, although the Rams' managed to plate their second run when senior third baseman Mike Muse (Milton, Mass.) knocked in Jake Cintolo (Wrentham, Mass.) with a groundout to short.
Five players recorded at least two hits for Saint Joseph's as Markakis led the way by going 3-5 with three runs, a triple, a homer and three RBI. Freshman shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) was 2-5 with a run, a double and a pair of RBI, senior center fielder Louie Vigars (Stratham, N.H.) went 2-5 with a double and two RBI and Barbati added two hits, two runs and an RBI in four at bats. Junior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) chipped in with a pair of hits and a run scored in five at bats.
Sanborn improved to 5-1 on the season after allowing two runs off eight hits and five walks with three strikeouts. McNamara was dominant in relief, tossing three no-hit frames with four punch-outs.
For the Rams, Collette went 2-2 with a double and an RBI and senior center fielder Mac Jacobson (Norfolk, Mass.) was 2-5 in a losing effort.
Richard suffered the loss and falls to 5-3 after surrendering eight runs off 10 hits and a walk with three K's in 2.1 innings. Freshman Chuckie Gibson (Maldon, Mass.) was solid in relief, giving up just one run off three hits and a pair of walks with five strikeouts over 6.2 innings of work.
4/26/14 - JWU Defeats Lasell, 7-5 In GNAC Playoffs
Lasell struck first in the bottom of the second inning when a two-out walk put Bobby Ellard (Medfield, Mass.) on first and Matt Sammarco (New Canaan, Conn.) connected on a double to right center to score Ellard. JWU responded in the next half inning when freshman Lou Umberto (Cranston, R.I.) reached on an error and scored on a double by senior Alex Pezzuto (Hastings, N.Y.) to tie things up at 1-1. Junior centerfielder Kory Ferrulo (Rochester, N.H.) sent a single up the middle, scoring Pezzuto, to extend the lead to 2-1. Senior Jake Dickerson (Garnet Valley, Pa.) hit the third double of the inning for the Wildcats which scored classmate Tyler Pacheco (East Hampstead, N.H.) and gave JWU a 3-1 lead after two and a half. Ellard answered in the bottom half of the third with a two-run single to right center that scored Chris Pittman (Brockton, Mass.) and Hector Coscione (Newton, Mass.) tying things up at 3-3.
Umberto stepped up to the plate with one out in the fourth, after a lead-off double by junior Tom Elkow(Morgansville, N.J.), and hit an infield single that improved the lead to 4-3. Wildcat junior pitcher Shawn Haugh (Tampa, Fla.) allowed one base runner in the next three innings but held the 4-3 advantage until the seventh.
In the 7th, Lasell used a Pittman RBI double and a safety squeeze by Coscione to take a 5-4 lead. Freshman Carlos Sanabria (Pawtucket, R.I.) led off the top of the eighth with a double to right center and came around to score when Pacheco stole second base and an errant throw to the plate tied the contest at 5-5. JWU escaped a Laser threat in the bottom of the 9th and went to work in the top half of the tenth. Ferullo was hit-by-a-pitch to lead off the inning and Sanabria slapped his fifth hit of the afternoon to left, moving Ferullo to second. A bunt attempt by Pacheco was fielded by the pitcher and the throw sailed past the third baseman trying to get the lead runner in Ferullo. Ferullo scored with ease to give the Wildcats the 6-5 advantage. Dickerson hit a sacrifice fly in foul territory to left to score Sanabria and give JWU a 7-5 lead in extra innings.
Senior Tim Ashworth (West Chesterfield, N.H.) pitched the 10th for JWU and had runners on second and third with two outs before working a fly out to left to end the game with JWU taking the 7-5 victory.
Sanabria was a perfect 5-for-5 with a pair of runs scored for JWU while Elkow had a pair of hits and an RBI in the win for the Wildcats.
With the victory Johnson & Wales improves to 29-13 while Lasell drops to 18-12 on the year. The Wildcats and Suffolk will face off in an elimination game on Sunday, April 27th at 11:00 a.m. The contest was originally scheduled for Saturday evening but was postponed due to weather conditions. The winner will take on host St. Joseph's of Maine for the GNAC Championship immediately following the game and will have to defeat the host Monks twice to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
4/26/14 - GNAC Softball & Baseball Tournament Schedules Reshuffled
STANDISH, ME – A total of three Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball and baseball tournament contests have been postponed due to lingering rainfall. As a result, Sunday figures to be a very busy day at Ward Park, which houses Richard W. Bailey Field and Larry Mahaney Diamond on the Campus of Saint Joseph's College.
For baseball, this afternoon's losers' bracket contest featuring #1 Suffolk University and #4 Johnson & Wales University, has been pushed to a 11:00 AM start on Sunday. The GNAC Championship - #2 Saint Joseph's versus the Suffolk/Johnson & Wales winner – will begin at 2:30 PM. The if-necessary contest would be played on another date, TBD. As per GNAC by-laws, teams participating in the GNAC Baseball Tournament will not play in more than two games on the same day.
For softball, today's winners' bracket game - #1 Saint Joseph's versus #2 Johnson & Wales – has been moved to a 10:00 AM start tomorrow and the losers' bracket contest, featuring #3 Simmons College and #4 University of Saint Joseph (CT), will begin at 12:00 PM. The loser of the Saint Joseph's/Johnson & Wales matchup will face the winner of the Simmons/USJ contest at 2:00 PM. The GNAC Championship is slated for a 4:00 PM start. The if-necessary contest would be played on another date, TBD. As per GNAC by-laws, teams participating in the GNAC Softball Tournament will not play in more than three games on the same day.
Winners of the GNAC Baseball & Softball Championships earn an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament, which begins on May 7th for softball and May 14th for baseball.
UPDATED TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES:
BASEBALL: Sunday, April 27th:
GAME G: #4 Johnson & Wales vs. #1 Suffolk – 11:00 AM (Loser eliminated) *
GAME H (Championship): #2 Saint Joseph's vs. Winner of Game G – 2:30 PM
GAME I: If necessary – DATE/TIME TBD
SOFTBALL: Sunday, April 27th:
GAME 9: @1 Saint Joseph's vs. #2 Johnson & Wales – 10:00 AM*
GAME 10: #3 Simmons vs. University of Saint Joseph (CT) – 12:00 PM*
GAME 11: Loser of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10 – 2:00 PM
GAME 12 (Championship): Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 9 – 4:00 PM
GAME 13: If necessary – DATE/TIME TBD
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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.
