STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (22-12, 12-2 GNAC) defeated #20 University of Southern Maine (18-9, 6-3 LEC), 10-7, in a non-conference baseball game at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore right fielder Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) was 3-4 with a run, a home run and four RBI in what was the Monks' 16th victory in the team's last 18 games.
Saint Joseph's held a 3-1 lead after one inning, but Southern Maine rallied with single runs in the second, third and fourth frames to claim a 4-3 edge. Sophomore designated hitter Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk and trotted home when Betts drilled a two run shot, a line drive over the scoreboard in left, lifting the hosts to a 5-4 advantage.
The Monks proceeded to tack on three runs in the bottom of the fifth junior left fielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) and senior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) rapped consecutive singles and scored on a Donovan double, which was misplayed in left. Donovan later tapped home plate on a Betts single through the right side, making it an 8-4 game going into the top of the sixth.
St. Joe's added a pair of insurance runs off three hits and a USM error in the seventh, when Reuillard led off with a double to deep right-center and scored on a Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) single that was bobbled in center field. Betts added his fourth RBI of the game when he plated Barbati with a base hit to left.
After being held off the board for three-consecutive frames, the Huskies tightened the collar a bit with a run off a hit and an SJC miscue in the top of the eighth. With one down, sophomore Matt Bender (Walpole, Mass.) walked, raced to third on an errant pick-off throw at first base and scored on a Brendon Joyce (Standish, Maine) single through the left side, cutting the visitors' deficit down to 10-5.
Always a threat to score runs in bunches, Southern Maine managed to make things a bit more interesting in the ninth, when the Huskies scored twice off three hits. Junior shortstop Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine) led off the inning with a solo jack over the left field wall and sophomore first baseman Paul McDonough (Wells, Maine) followed with a two-base hit to left. Sophomore Damon Wallace (Gorham, Maine) sent McDonough home with a sharp single to center and stood at first base with nobody out. Junior closer Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) was able to minimize the damage, forcing freshman pinch hitter Anthony Capuano (Bangor, Maine) to fly out to left before picking Wallace off first and fanning Bender to bring an end to the contest.
For the Monks, Reuillard went 3-5 with three runs, a double and an RBI and Coyne was 2-4 with a pair of runs and a stolen base while freshman pitcher Steven Albert (Worcester, Mass.) picked up the win and improves to 3-0 on the year after tossing 2.2 innings of no-hit relief with a walk and a punch-out to his credit. Sophomore starter Matt Wojciak (Merrimack, N.H.) allowed four runs (two earned) off five hits and three walks with three K's over four frames and did not factor into the decision. Freshmen hurlers Philip LeVangie (Hanover, Mass.), Chris Gerossie (Chester, N.H.) and Josh Partridge (Deerfield, N.H.) also made relief appearances versus the Huskies.
Dexter led the USM offensive effort by going 2-4 with three runs, a homer and an RBI while McDonough was 2-4 with a run and Bender went 2-4 with three runs scored in the loss. Sophomore starter Zack Bean (Westbrook, Maine) took the loss and falls to 1-2 on the year after yielding five runs (four earned) off five hits and a walk with three strikeouts in three innings. Senior reliever Andrew Richards (South Portland, Maine) gave up three runs off four hits with a pair of punch-outs and freshman Chase Orava (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) allowed two runs (one earned) off a pair of hits with a strikeout in 1.1 innings of relief. Juniors Dan Kinnon (Londonderry, N.H.) and Ryan Browner (Georgetown, Mass.) combined to toss 1.2 innings of two-hit scoreless relief with the former fanning a pair.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 13-50 all-time versus University of Southern Maine and has now defeated the Huskies in four-consecutive meetings at Mahaney Diamond, a stretch that began in 2008. Starting in 1984 and finally ending in 1997, USM posted a 29-game winning streak against SJC, but the Monks have emerged victorious in five of the last seven meetings versus the Huskies, a program that advanced to the NCAA DIII World Series after capturing the NCAA DIII New England Championship in each of the last two seasons.
Saint Joseph's, the top seed in the 2015 GNAC Tournament, is off until Thursday when the Monks begin postseason play with a home quarterfinal contest versus the winner of the #5 Rivier University/#4 Lasell College play-in game, start time TBD. Southern Maine resumes play on Tuesday with a Little East Conference contest at University of Massachusetts-Boston (3:00 PM).
