PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Saint Joseph's College (20-11, 11-1 GNAC) split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball doubleheader with Johnson & Wales University (13-11, 6-4 GNAC) on Thursday afternoon. The Monks suffered a 9-2 loss in the opener and rebounded with a 6-0 victory to salvage the split. Senior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) registered three hits in the two-game set and became the sixth member of the Monks' 200-Hit Club with a single in the top of the fifth of the second game.
With the loss in the opener, the Monks' 13-game winning streak came to a close, but Saint Joseph's clinched the top seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament with the nightcap triumph, which begins with a single-elimination play-in round next Tuesday. With one conference loss and two GNAC games remaining, the other contending teams cannot overtake Saint Joseph's, as Johnson & Wales, Lasell and Suffolk already have four losses in league play.
As one of the top two seeds, the Monks earn a first-round bye and begin tourney play next Thursday with a home game versus the winner of the #4/#5 opening round contest. The remainder of the conference tournament will be played, and hosted by Suffolk University, at Holman Stadium next Saturday and Sunday in Nashua, New Hampshire.
GAME ONE
The Monks scored a run off four hits and stranded three runners in the top of the first, as junior left fielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) singled and later scored on a Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) base hit to provide the visitors with a 1-0 edge going into the bottom of the first. Coyne and sophomore right fielder Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) also singled in the opening frame.
The Wildcats knotted the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second, when junior Jordan Pilarski (Garnet Valley, Pa.) walked and eventually scored on a two-out single off the bat of sophomore Lou Umberto (Cranston, R.I.).
St. Joe's recaptured the lead with a run off one hit and a JWU miscue in the fifth, as sophomore second baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) reached on an error and later scored when Barbati singled to right field, lifting the Royal Blue to a 2-1 edge.
Senior starter Alex Valenti (Lawrence, Mass.) tossed five strong innings and was removed in favor of junior reliever Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.), who entered the game having allowed just one walk over 15 innings of work this spring. Dealing with an inconsistent strike zone, the Monks' closer quickly found himself in a jam, walking a pair and allowing a bloop single to load the bases with nobody out. Sophomore Ryan Cabral (Hope, R.I.) lifted the Wildcats to a 3-2 lead with a two-run single, junior Ty Karalis (Seekonk, Mass.) followed with a run-scoring base hit and, after Umberto struck out, freshman pinch hitter Rob Ballinger (South Kingstown, R.I.) stepped to the plate and made it a 5-2 game with a double to left-center. McNamara fanned senior Kory Ferullo (Rochester, N.H.) for the second out of the inning and was replaced on the hill by freshman Joshua Partridge (Deerfield, N.H.), who gave up a three-run homer to junior Andrew Hunton (Monroe, N.Y.), a blast that extended the hosts' lead to 8-2, and sophomore Ivan Reyes (Cranston, R.I.) later produced an RBI single to cap the game scoring.
The Monks attempted to dig out of the six-run hole and loaded the bases with three singles in the top of the seventh, but could not push a run across.
Saint Joseph's managed to outhit Johnson & Wales by a 12-10 margin in the losing effort, a hit parade led by a 3-4 performance from Barbati. Betts and Reuillard added two hits apiece in the setback. Valenti was excellent, allowing a run off three hits with four walks and eight strikeouts in five innings. McNamara endured the most frustrating outing of his NCAA career, yielding six runs off four hits and a pair of walks with two K's in 0.2 innings.
For the Wildcats, Cabral and Reyes notched two hits apiece and junior starter Jake Marchesseault (Wyoming, R.I.) picked up the win after giving up two runs off 12 hits and a walk with six punch-outs over seven frames.
GAME TWO
Saint Joseph's showed plenty of poise by pulling out the nightcap triumph, and in convincing manner at that, as senior starter Dan Meeken (Marshfield, Mass.) completely shut down the JWU offense, scattering five hits with a pair of walks while fanning a career-high 10 batters in a complete-game shutout effort.
With Meeken dealing, the Monks produced all the offense he required with a run off two hits in the top of the second, when Barbati led off with a single and scored on a Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) base hit.
For good measure, St. Joe's tacked on two runs in the third and three in the fifth to account for the 6-0 final. In the third, Reuillard sent Black home with a double and sprinted home when Coyne ripped a two-bagger to left. The Monks posted five hits in the fifth, when Reuillard doubled to left-center and scored on a Barbati base hit and sophomore Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) knocked in a pair with a bases-loaded single to center.
For the Monks, Reuillard was 3-4 with two runs, three doubles and an RBI, Barbati went 3-3 with a run and an RBI, Coyne went 2-3 with a run, a two-bagger and an RBI and Meehan added two hits and an RBI in three at bats. Meeken did not allow a runner past second base in the victory and extended his scoreless inning streak to 19 innings with seven shutout frames this afternoon. The senior southpaw has not allowed a run since giving up a pair in the first inning against Albertus Magnus on April 4th and has given up just eight hits with 22 strikeouts over his last 20 innings.
Senior hurler Shawn Haugh (Tampa, Fla.) suffered the loss for the Wildcats after yielding six runs off 11 hits and a free pass with four K's over 5.1 innings and freshman Taylor Pacific (Cranston, R.I.) tossed 1.2 innings of effective relief, allowing a pair of walks with two punch-outs.
Both teams return to the diamond facing conference opponents, as Saint Joseph's hosts Suffolk University in a twinbill slated to start at 12:00 PM on Saturday and JWU travels to Albertus Magnus tomorrow for a doubleheader starting 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 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.
