AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (3-5) produced a pair of victories over Wheaton College (1-2) in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The Monks' offense came to life with 16 hits, including five doubles, in a 14-6 opening win over the Lyons and scored three runs late to defeat their New England Regional counterpart, 3-2, in the nightcap.
GAME ONE
Seven different players notched two hits and all nine starters recorded at least one base knock in the opener, which saw the Monks post crooked numbers on the board in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings en route to the 14-6 triumph.
The Lyons, coming off a 5-2 victory over #9 Concordia (Ill.) yesterday, struck first with a run off three hits in the top of the opening frame, as ¬sophomore shortstop Joshua LaJoie (Somers, Conn.) singled to left with one out and came around to score on a Tyler Contillo (Uncasville, Conn.) base hit through the right side to stake Wheaton to an early advantage. With the bases loaded and two down, SJC senior starter Alex Valenti (Lawrence, Mass.) minimized the damage by inducing a harmless flyout to right.
The Monks took advantage of a pair of walks in the bottom of the second to claim a 2-1 lead. Sophomores Jameson Collins (Sandown, N.H.) and Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) both earned four-pitch free passes and moved into scoring position on a Mike Kinch (Newton, Mass.) sac bunt. Collins scored the tying run on a single up the middle by senior third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) and the following batter, sophomore shortstop Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.), plated Collins with a sac fly to center to lift the Royal Blue to a 2-1 lead.
St. Joe's went on to score four runs off four hits and a Wheaton miscue in the bottom of the third, as senior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) singled and later scored and Betts, Kinch and Sanborn knocked in a run apiece to extend the Monks' cushion to 6-1.
Saint Joseph's added three more runs in the fourth, when Betts drove in Coyne and sophomore first baseman Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) – who reached with a two-bagger – with a base hit up the chute and Kinch plated Collins with a base knock to right as the Royal Blue owned a 9-1 advantage heading into the fifth.
With Valenti throwing well and the Monks on top by eight, the game seemed to be in the bag, but Wheaton managed to make things uncomfortable by scoring five runs off six hits in the top of the fifth. Senior Zach Bombard (Belchertown, Mass.), sophomore Joseph Santigate (Staten Island, N.Y.) and junior Jimmy Smith (Worcester, Mass.) opened the inning with three-consecutive singles, loading the bases for LaJoie, who drove in Bombard with a single to center. Junior Justin Silvestro (Waltham, Mass.) followed with another RBI base hit and Smith scored on a groundout off the bat of senior first baseman Apolinar De La Cruz (Providence, R.I.) to make it a 9-4 game. Contillo plated a pair with a double to left-center, a drive that led to a change on the mound for the Monks, as Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 removed Valenti in favor of sophomore Nick Malatesta (Wrentham, Mass.), who escaped further damage by inducing a ground out and fanning Peluso with St. Joe's clinging to a 9-6 lead.
The Monks could not capitalize on a leadoff hit batsman in the bottom of the fifth, but responded in kind to the Lyons' five-run frame by scoring five of their own off five hits and a pair of Wheaton errors in the sixth inning. Sophomore center fielder Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) led off the frame with a double to deep left and came around to score when Kinch reached on an infield error and Black drove in Sanborn and Collins with a double down the left field line, lifting his team to a 12-6 lead. Black, who later scored on a Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) single, battled his way out of an 0-2 hole by fouling off five-straight pitches before swatting his first of two doubles on the afternoon.
Reuillard proceeded to score the final run of the game when Coyne doubled to left-center, accounting for the 14-6 final.
For the Monks, Black, Betts and Kinch notched two hits and three RBI apiece while Coyne, Barbati and Meehan each added two hits and a pair of runs in the convincing triumph. Collins scored a career-high four runs and Sanborn drove in two in the victory.
Malatesta earned his first career victory after allowing a hit and a walk with six punch-outs in 3.1 innings and freshman Steven Albert (Worcester, Mass.) tossed 1.1 frames of one-hit relief for Saint Joseph's. Valenti did not figure into the decision after allowing six runs off nine hits (eight singles) with five K's over 4.1 innings.
For the Lyons, LaJoie was 2-4 with two runs and an RBI, Silvestro went 2-4 with a run and an RBI, and Contillo plated three off two hits, including a double, in the losing bid.
Wheaton starter Brady Furdon (Natick, Mass.), making his first NCAA start, took the loss after giving up six runs (four earned) off four hits and four walks with two K's. Joe Bongiovanni (Johnston, R.I.) allowed seven runs (one earned) off eight hits over 3.2 innings and Jimmy Gowen (Brielle, N.J.) yielded an unearned run off four hits with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings of mop-up duty.
GAME TWO
The second regional rivalry contest featured a completely different pace as the nightcap merged into a pitcher's duel between SJC senior starter Dan Meeken (Marshfield, Mass.) and Wheaton freshman hurler Dan Southerland (Dartmouth, Mass.).
The Lyons again struck first, as De La Cruz worked a lead-off walk, advanced to third on a Mike Beneduce (North Kingstown, R.I.) single, and scored on a Landry base hit through the left side in the bottom of the second inning.
Wheaton doubled the lead in the third when Bombard and LaJoie opened with consecutive singles up the middle and both moved up a base on a Silvestro sac bunt. Meeken issued an intentional free pass to De La Cruz to load the bases with one out, but Beneduce foiled the plan, capping a lengthy at bat with a sac fly to right field, scoring Bombard and making it a 2-0 contest going into the fourth.
St. Joe's, which mustered just two hits in the first five innings combined, managed to produce a run off a single knock in the top of the sixth, when Sanborn led off with a double to deep right-center, moved to third on a Black sacrifice bunt, and scored on a Reuillard chopper to short.
The Monks proceeded to knot the game at two-apiece with a run off two hits in the top of the seventh. Barbati led off with a single to right, moved to second on a Collins sac bunt and sprinted home on a Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) pinch-hit single to right.
Saint Joseph's gained their first lead of the closing contest in the top of the eighth, when Sanborn singled to left with one out, stole second, moved to third on a Black groundout, and scored on a Reuillard base hit to right field.
Sanborn, who went 2-2 with two runs and a double, was the Monks' lone repeat-hitter in the nightcap while Reuillard delivered a pair of RBI and freshman catcher Jacob White (Salem, N.H.) belted his first NCAA two-bagger in the comeback victory.
For Wheaton, Bombard and LaJoie recorded two hits apiece in the losing bid.
On the hill, junior Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) picked up the win after allowing a hit while fanning a pair in a scoreless inning of relief. Junior Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) collected his first save of the young season after tossing two immaculate innings with four K's and Meeken yielded two runs off five hits and a pair of walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.
Junior reliever Jordan Jenkins (Scituate, Mass.) was hit with the loss for the Lyons after giving up the go-ahead run in the eighth. Southerland struck out seven while allowing two runs off five hits and a pair of passes while Michael Baryski (Walpole, Mass.) and Cody Kozin (Storrs, Conn.) combined to toss 1.1 innings of scoreless relief in the loss.
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's improves to 5-8 in the history of the series with Wheaton College, a team that defeated the Monks twice (5-2, 3-1) in Auburndale last spring. The 14-run total in the opener is the most the Monks have scored in the history of the 13-game matchup with the Lyons and the most runs allowed by Wheaton since the Lyons fell to national powerhouse Marietta College, 19-5, on March 14th, 2014.
Both teams return to action with single nine-inning games tomorrow, when Saint Joseph's faces Fontbonne University at 1:00 PM (Chain of Lakes #4) and Wheaton plays Webster University at 4:00 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.
