BANGOR, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (6-10) suffered a pair of walk-off losses at the hands of Husson University (10-7) in a non-conference baseball doubleheader on Tuesday night. The Eagles, who have now won eight straight, tipped the Monks by a 4-3 score in the opener and capped the sweep with an 8-7 victory in 11 innings in the nightcap.
GAME ONE
The Monks scored first in the opener, as sophomore second baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and later scored on a Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) groundout in the first inning.
St. Joe's tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to claim a 3-0 cushion, as sophomore center fielder Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) doubled and raced home on a Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) two-bagger in the former and Black launched a solo homer in the latter to stake the Royal Blue to a three-run lead.
Husson proceeded to knot the game at three-apiece in the off three hits and an SJC error in the sixth, when Kyle Bishop (Waterville, Maine) tripled and scored on an infield miscue and Jordan Carter (Ellsworth, Maine) knocked in a pair with a double to left field.
Junior reliever Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.), who entered the game in the sixth, retired the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh on a ground out and strike out, but issued a five-pitch walk to the third hitter – Bishop - and the free pass proved to be detrimental, as Bishop promptly scored when the following batter, junior JT Whitten (Waterville, Maine), drove a double to the left-center gap.
Senior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) was 3-4 and Black scored a pair of runs in the loss for the Monks. On the mound, sophomore starter Nick Malatesta (Wrentham, Mass.) allowed two hits and fanned five over two innings of work, sophomore southpaw Thomas Fortier (Falmouth, Maine) struck out six while allowing three runs (two earned) off three hits in 3.1 innings and McNamara allowed a run off two hits and a walk with a pair of K's in 1.1 innings.
For Husson, Bishop went 2-3 with a pair of runs and a triple and senior pitcher Dennis O'Neil (Mount Desert, Maine) picked up the victory after allowing three runs off seven hits with a strikeout in a complete-game effort.
GAME TWO
Husson held a 2-0 lead after scoring single runs in the first and fourth inning, but St. Joe's countered with a five-run fifth when senior third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) belted a two-run homer – his first career jack – while Black and sophomore first baseman Jameson Collins (Sandown, N.H.) produced RBI doubles to make it a 5-2 game. Black also scored on an infield error during the fifth frame.
The Eagles went on to tie the game at 5-5 with three runs off two hits and a pair of Monks miscues in the bottom of the seventh and the Monks countered by scoring a pair off three hits and a Husson error in the top of the eighth, when Coyne led off with a single and scored on a Barbati double and pinch hitter Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) plated Barbati with a single to left-center.
Husson answered in kind in the bottom of the eighth with two runs off two hits, as Ryan Rebar (Harmony, Maine) singled and scored on a triple by Brandon Gendreau (Brewer, Maine), who promptly trotted home on an RBI groundout by Bishop, knotting the game once again.
Neither team mounted a scoring threat until the bottom of the 11th, when Bishop walked on four pitches and later scored on a Carter sac fly to left field.
For the Monks, sophomore shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) was 3-4 with a run and a pair of doubles and Betts went 2-5 with a run and a two-bagger.
Saint Joseph's employed seven different pitchers in the extra-inning setback, as sophomore Matt Wojciak (Merrimack, N.H.) started and allowed two runs (one earned) off four hits and three walks with four K's in 3.2 innings and freshman Joshua Partridge (Deerfield, N.H.) surrendered five runs (four earned) off four hits and a pair of walks with six strikeouts in three innings of relief. Freshman Daniel Gittis (Exton, Pa.) took the loss in his collegiate debut after walking the batter who scored the game-winning run in the 11th.
Freshmen Steven Albert (Worcester, Mass.), Patrick Martin (Wilton, N.H.) and Travis Godbout (Portland, Maine) and junior Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) all put forth solid efforts in short relief stints in the loss.
Gendreau was 3-5 with three runs and a triple, Rebar went 3-4 with a run and an RBI and Bishop was 2-5 with a pair of runs and an RBI for the Eagles. Senior Seth Freudenberger (Bangor, Maine) picked up the victory on the mound after allowing a walk with a pair of strikeouts in three innings of hitless relief.
Saint Joseph's returns to the diamond on Thursday when the team hosts GNAC-rival Lasell College in the Monks' 2015 home-opener. First pitch is slated for 2:00 PM at Larry Mahaney Diamond.
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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.
