STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (10-10, 4-0 GNAC) swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader with Rivier University at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Friday afternoon. The Monks opened with an 8-1 triumph and edged the Raiders, 6-5, in the nightcap.
Due to the condition of the Raiders' home field, Holman Stadium in Nashua, N.H., Rivier opted to play today's twinbill at Mahaney Diamond and served as the home team for both contests.
GAME ONE
Rivier junior starter Edward Soucie (South Ryegate, Vt.) held Saint Joseph's without a hit until the top of the fourth when senior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) delivered a one-out single to right-center. With the Raiders' righthander throwing well, the Monks did not find the scoreboard until the fifth when sophomore right fielder Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) launched his first career home run, a two-run shot that landed well beyond the left field wall.
Freshman hurler Steven Albert (Worcester, Mass.), making his first NCAA start, was every bit as dominant as his counterpart and required little run support to earn his second win of the season, but the SJC offense provided a good deal of insurance by plating six runs off six hits and a pair of Rivier errors in the sixth.
Sophomore second baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) led off with the sixth with a single up the middle and stole second and junior left fielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) did the same before Coyne strode to the plate and delivered a two-run double to right field, making it a 4-0 contest. Freshman infielder Dan Marini (Nahant, Mass.) pinch ran for Coyne and scored on a Jameson Collins (Sandown, N.H.) base hit and sophomore center fielder Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) – who reached via hit by pitch – crossed the plate for the Monks' sixth run when Betts rapped a single to the left side. With the bases loaded and one out, senior third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) hit a rope to second base, but an error was made on the play allowing both Collins and Betts to reach the plate, making it an 8-0 game.
The Raiders produced their lone run of the opener in the bottom of the seventh, when junior Michael Janerico (Waquiot, Mass.) walked and scored on a JJ Montello (Nashua, N.H.) double to right-center, accounting for the 8-1 final.
For the Monks, Coyne was 2-3 with a double and a pair of RBI and Betts went 2-3 with two runs, a homer and three RBI. Albert scattered five hits and walked one with six strikeouts and threw just 73 pitches over six innings. Freshman Marc Poirier (Lunenburg, Mass.) allowed one run off one hit and a walk in one inning of relief.
For the Raiders, junior Taylor Black (West Springfield, Mass.) was 2-3 and Souci falls to 1-1 on the season after allowing six runs off five hits and a walk with three strikeouts in six innings. Juniors Spencer Aquiar (Malden, Mass.) and Nick Gagnon (Providence, R.I.) combined to give up two runs (one earned) off four hits with a strikeout in 1.2 frames of relief.
GAME TWO
Saint Joseph's fell victim to subpar defense in the nightcap, as the Royal Blue made four errors in a contest that stood at a 5-5 tie going into the top of the seventh. With the score deadlocked in the final frame, Betts led off with a single and moved up to second on a Collins sac bunt before scoring the eventual winning run when sophomore pinch hitter Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) came through with a single up the middle.
St. Joe's scored first in the closing contest, as Reuillard doubled to the base of the wall in center and raced home on a Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) single to left-center in the top of the first.
The Raiders gained their first lead of the day with two runs off a pair of hits in the second, when Gagnon produced an RBI single and Montello worked a bases-loaded walk. Freshman starter Chris Gerossie (Chester, N.H.) worked out of a bases-full, two-out jam by inducing a fly out to left field.
The Monks managed to tie the game with a run in the third, as Black opened with a double down the right field line and later scored on a Coyne base knock.
Rivier scored three runs with the help of three SJC miscues in the bottom of the third. Black led off the inning with a single up the middle and eventually scored on a throwing error to make it a 3-2 game. With runners on second and third and one out, Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 signaled for freshman reliever Travis Godbout (Portland, Maine) to intentionally walk sophomore Adam Arkell (Dover, N.H.), looking for a double play ball to end the inning. Junior reliever Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) executed the plan, fielding a ground ball off the bat of Gagnon and throwing home to cut down Michael Scanlon (Plantsville, Conn.), but the throw to first sailed into right field, a play that resulted in two runners crossing the plate and the Raiders securing a 5-2 advantage.
Unfazed, the Monks plated a pair off two hits and a Rivier error in the top of the fourth. Sophomore shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and quickly stole second before scoring on an error. Freshman Nick Mangiamelli (Suffield, Conn.), who reached base via the miscue, later scored on a Reuillard base hit through the right side, a play that cut the SJC deficit down to 5-4.
With Cox holding the Raiders' offense in check, the Monks were able to tie the game once again with a run off two hits and an error in the fifth, when Betts singled and advanced to second on a throwing error, moved to third on a Collins base hit, and scored when McCoomb roped a sac fly to center field.
For the Monks, Reuillard went 4-4 with a run, a double, an RBI and a pair of stolen bases, Betts was 2-4 with two runs, and Coyne added two hits and an RBI in three at bats in the narrow victory. Junior reliever Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) improves to 1-1 on the season after allowing one hit with a strikeout in 1.1 innings of relief and Cox fanned five while yielding one hit in 3.1 dominant frames. Gerossie allowed four runs (two earned) off four hits and two walks with a pair of K's and Godbout gave up an unearned run with a walk and a punch-out in 1/3 inning of middle relief.
Junior reliever Matthew Keefe (Bradford, Mass.) was hit with the loss for the Raiders after allowing two runs (one earned) off four hits in 2.1 innings of relief. Senior starter Alex Mears (Salem, N.H.) gave up four runs (two earned) off seven hits and a walk with three K's in four innings and senior reliever Lucas Palma (Bristol, Conn.) allowed one hit in 2/3 inning. Rivier did not feature a repeat-hitter in the closing contest.
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's improves to 20-1 in the history of the series with Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in 15 consecutive meetings dating back to the 2008 campaign.
Both teams return to conference play tomorrow, when Saint Joseph's plays Albertus Magnus College in a doubleheader at SUNY-Purchase and Rivier faces Norwich University in a twinbill played at Franklin Pierce University.
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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.
