STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (18-10, 10-0 GNAC) outlasted Bowdoin College (8-13, 2-3 NESCAC), 13-12, in a wild non-conference baseball contest at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Monday night. Sophomore second baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) was 4-4 with a pair of runs scored in the victory.
An erratic game from the start, tonight's battle between the in-state rivals required almost exactly four hours to complete as the Monks and Polar Bears combined to score 25 runs off 32 total hits and seven errors while employing a total of 12 pitchers – six apiece – in a contest that was not decided until sophomore shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) made a nice slow roller play for the final out with runners on first and third with two out in the ninth.
Junior reliever Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) picked up his second win of the season after allowing four unearned runs off three hits with a strikeout over two innings and freshman Joshua Partridge (Deerfield, N.H.) notched his first collegiate save after yielding a hit and a walk with a pair of punch-outs in 1.1 innings.
Black was one of six repeat-hitters for the Monks, as sophomore right fielder Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) went 2-5 with two runs, a home run and four RBI, sophomore first baseman Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) was 2-3 with two runs and a pair of RBI, sophomore left fielder Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) went 2-4 with two runs and an RBI and senior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) added a pair of hits with two runs, a double and an RBI in the victory. Junior left fielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) was 2-4 with a run and an RBI and his double in the second inning was the 100th hit of his career.
Saint Joseph's, playing as the away team due to the fact that Bowdoin's field is not quite ready, jumped out to a 5-0 lead off five hits in the top of the first. Coyne plated Black, who led off the game with a single to right, with a double to center and later scored on a Barbati base hit up the middle. Donovan followed with a single to right and trotted home behind Barbati when Betts launched a line drive over the left field fence for his second jack of the season, a big fly that lifted the Royal Blue to an early 5-0 cushion.
In the bottom of the first, Bowdoin leadoff junior leadoff hitter Peter Cimini (Needham, Mass.) turned on a 3-1 offering from SJC freshman starter Steven Albert (Worcester, Mass.) and drilled a solo home run over the left field wall to make it a 5-1 game.
The Monks responded with two runs off three hits in the top of the second, when Reuillard plated Black with a double to left-center and later scored on a Barbati sacrifice fly to right field.
The Polar Bears answered in kind with a pair of runs off four hits in the bottom of the second, when seniors Erik Jacobsen (Milton, Mass.) and Aaron Rosen (Morganville, N.J.) delivered RBI singles to cut the Monks' cushion down to 7-3.
After a scoreless third inning in which both teams went 1-2-3 at the plate, the offensive fireworks seemed to be a thing of the past but as it played out, the perfect frame was just a break in the action.
After thwarting a runners on first and second with nobody out scenario in the top of the inning, the Polar Bears roared back onto the scene and claimed their first lead of the evening after scoring six runs on four hits and three SJC errors in the fourth.
After seeing freshman Nick Sadler (Atkinson, N.H.) and senior Sam Canales (Saco, Maine) reach with consecutive singles, Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 removed Albert in favor of junior sidearm specialist Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) with hopes of getting a double play ball. Cox fulfilled his role by inducing five ground balls, with the first allowing Cimini to knock in a run and reach on a fielder's choice, but the Monks misplayed three consecutive ground balls in an inning that saw Bowdoin take a 9-7 lead with the help of five unearned runs.
Unfazed, the Monks went back to work with the bats in the top of the fifth and tied the game on a pair of Bowdoin miscues, as Donovan singled and eventually scored on a throwing error and McCoomb reached with a base hit and sprinted home on a wild pitch.
Cox worked a scoreless fifth, allowing a hit with a strikeout and a pair of groundouts, an effort that allowed the Monks to take the lead for good with four runs off four hits and two Bowdoin errors in the top of the sixth. Coyne reached on a fielder's choice and later scored on an infield error while Betts and sophomore Jameson Collins (Sandown, N.H.) both rapped RBI singles to make it a 12-9 game. With runners on first and second and one out, McCoomb perfectly executed a squeeze play, sending Betts home, to lift the Royal Blue to a four-run cushion heading into the bottom of the sixth.
The Polar Bears managed to plate a run off one hit but stranded a pair in the sixth, when senior Cole DiRoberto (Worcester, Mass.) doubled to right, advanced to third on a balk and scored on a groundout to first off the bat of sophomore Sean Mullaney (Leominster, Mass.). With runners on first and second and two down, Coach Sanborn replaced freshman Philip LeVangie (Hanover, Mass.) with sophomore southpaw Thomas Fortier (Falmouth, Maine), who fanned Canales on three pitches to minimize the damage.
The 13-10 cushion held true until the bottom of the eighth, when the Polar Bears scored twice off two hits and a Saint Joseph's error to make it a one-run game. With two out and runners on first and second, Cimini singled to left but the ball was misplayed and rolled all the way to the warning track, a blunder that allowed a pair of runs to score.
Black led off the top of the ninth with his fourth hit of the night, a single through the right side, but the Monks were unable to tack on an insurance run and headed into the bottom of the final inning ahead 13-12.
With Partridge on the hill, Rosen led off the bottom of the ninth with a four-pitch walk and, after DiRoberto struck out on three pitches, moved to second on a Chad Martin (Rowley, Mass.) single to center. Rosen added extra pressure by stealing third base and, with the tying run just 90 feet away, Partridge fanned Mullaney and forced senior catcher Buddy Shea (Branford, Conn.) to hit a slow chopper to short, where McCoomb came up with a slick game-ending play.
Cimini led the Polar Bears offensively by going 3-5 with three runs, a home run and three RBI while Jacobsen, Rosen, Martin and Canales added two hits apiece in the losing effort. Freshman pitcher Richard Arms (Southborough, Mass.) took the loss after giving up four runs (two earned) on three hits with a strikeout in 0.2 innings of relief.
Bowdoin starter Logan Simon (Los Angeles, Calif.) allowed seven runs off 10 hits with five K's over 3.1 innings.
For the Monks, Albert did not figure into the decision after yielding five runs (four earned) off eight hits and a walk with three punch-outs in three innings. Freshman Patrick Martin (Wilton, N.H.) worked 1.1 innings of effective relief, allowing two runs (one earned) off two hits and a walk with two K's.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 25-22-3 all-time versus Bowdoin College, a team the Monks defeated by a 2-0 score in the last meeting between the in-state rivals (May 4, 2014).
On Tuesday, Saint Joseph's travels to Endicott College for a 4:00 PM non-conference game.
#GOMONKS
Follow Saint Joseph's Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram!
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.
