STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (8-10, 2-0 GNAC) kicked off Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with a pair of wins over Lasell College (4-10, 0-2 GNAC) at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Thursday afternoon. The Monks opened with a 3-0 win over the Lasers and completed the sweep with a 3-1 nightcap triumph.
GAME ONE
Senior starting pitcher Alex Valenti (Lawrence, Mass.) was dominant in the Monks' 2015 home-opener, as the righthander did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and gave up just three hits overall in a complete-game shutout performance in the first game.
Valenti required little run support and, as it played out, the Monks produced all the offense they needed in the first inning, when the hosts scored off a pair of hits with two out in the bottom of the opening frame. Senior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) doubled to left field and raced home when the following batter, sophomore first baseman Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) capped a seven-pitch at bat with a base hit through the right side.
Saint Joseph's tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the fifth, when sophomore center fielder Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) singled and sophomore shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) walked to set the stage for sophomore second baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.), who plated both runners with a two-out double to deep center.
Coyne went 2-3 with a pair of two-baggers and was the lone repeat-hitter for either team in the opening contest. Valenti improved to 2-2 after allowing three hits and a pair of walks with seven K's in what was the first complete-game shutout effort of his collegiate career.
Senior hurler Kevin Post (Cromwell, Conn.) took the loss for the Lasers after yielding three runs off five hits and a walk with one strikeout over six innings.
GAME TWO
The Lasers struck first in the closing contest, as the visitors scored a run off four hits – all singles – in the top of the first. With one out, senior left fielder Matt Sammarco (New Canaan, Conn.) reached with a base hit down the left field line and scampered to third on a Skylar Beckerman (Pensacola, Fla.) single to right-center. Junior catcher Wes Hurty (Windsor, Conn.) lifted the visitors to an early 1-0 advantage with a base knock through the left side, but SJC senior starter Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) worked out of a bases-loaded with one out jam by inducing a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of senior Evan Mozingo (Brookfield, Conn.).
After stranding a pair of runners with one out in the bottom of the first, Saint Joseph's took the lead with two runs off two hits and a Lasell error in the third. Black reached on an infield miscue and promptly stole second before moving to third on a Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) base hit. Reuillard moved up 90 feet on a Coyne chopper to third and Barbati drove in both runners with a single up the middle, lifting the hosts to a 2-1 edge.
St. Joe's added an insurance run in the fifth, when Sanborn led off with a single up the middle and later scored on a Reuillard double to left-center.
The Lasers threatened in the top of the sixth with runners on first and second and one out, but Sanborn escaped unscathed with the help of two groundouts.
Junior closer Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) came on to close the door in the seventh, fanning all three batters he faced on just 12 pitches to earn his third save of the season and 11th of his NCAA career.
For the Monks, Reuillard was 2-3 with a run, a double and an RBI and Barbati went 2-3 with a two-base hit and a pair of RBI in the victory. Sanborn improved to 2-2 on the season after allowing a run off six hits and a pair of walks with five punch-outs in six innings.
Hurty paced the Lasers' offense by going 3-3 with a double in the loss while freshman starter Josh Bahnick (Clinton, Mass.) fell to 1-1 on the year after allowing three runs (one earned) off five hits and a walk with a pair of K's in five innings. Senior Ryan Bowen (Hudson, Mass.) gave up one hit in an inning of relief.
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's improves to 13-3 in the history of the series with Lasell College.
Now two games through a six-game, three-day conference stretch, the Monks host Rivier University for a pair tomorrow with first pitch slated for 12:00 PM. With their home field unavailable, the Raiders will serve as the home team for both contests.
Lasell returns to play Saturday when the team hosts GNAC-rival Johnson & Wales University for two contests, the first of which starts at 12:00 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 474-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.
