Monks Breeze Past Terriers, 9-1

Monks Breeze Past Terriers, 9-1

STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (24-14, 12-2 GNAC) defeated Thomas College (16-20, 14-10 NAC), 9-1, in a non-conference baseball game at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Tuesday afternoon. Senior third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) was 2-3 with three runs, a double and three RBI in the one-sided triumph.

Sophomore starting pitcher Matt Wojciak (Merrimack, N.H.) fanned 12 batters while allowing a run off four hits and a pair of walks in six innings to improve to 3-0 on the season. His strikeout out tally is the most since Nick Whittaker '14 struck out 13 in a win over Anna Maria College on April 13th, 2014.

In relief, freshman Christopher Gerossie (Chester, N.H.) and sophomore Nick Malatesta (Wrentham, Mass.) combined to strike out six, giving the Monks' pitching staff 18 K's in the victory, a total that ties the program record for whiffs in a contest. Previously, St. Joe's had posted the same amount of strikeouts versus Husson University on April 28th, 1988 (exactly 27 years ago) and against Southern Vermont on May 12th, 1988.

Leading 2-1, the Monks broke the game open with five runs off two hits and a pair of Thomas errors, as the hosts loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a walk and Terriers freshman pitcher Payton Kennison (Augusta, Maine) hit a wild streak, giving up a pair of runs on consecutive free passes and allowed another two runs score when he plunked Sanborn and senior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Maine) with the bases loaded. Sanborn later scored on an infield error to make it a 7-1 game through four full frames.

Saint Joseph's proceeded to tack on a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh, when Sanborn doubled home freshman center fielder Nick Mangiameli (Suffield, Conn.) and scored on a Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) base hit through the right side.

For the Monks, Reuillard was 3-5 with an RBI while freshman right fielder Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) and sophomore shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) both went 2-4 with a run scored in the victory.

Thomas junior center fielder Anree Benitez (Orlando, Fla.) was 2-5 with a pair of stolen bases and freshman starter Matt Rutherford (Saco, Maine) took the loss on the mound after giving up two runs on three hits and a pair of walks over three innings of work. Kennison yielded five runs (four earned) off two hits, three walks and a pair of hit batsmen in 1/3 inning, sophomore Rett Adams (Atlanta, Ga.) struck out one in 2/3 inning of relief, sophomore Dominic Esposito (Portland, Maine/Deering) scattered three hits over two scoreless innings, and junior Derek Kane (Natick, Mass.) allowed two runs off two hits and a pair of free passes with two K's in two innings of mop-up duty.

Saint Joseph's returns to action tomorrow with a non-conference game at UMass.-Boston starting at 5:30 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.