WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (3-1) split a pair of games with Ursinus College (3-3) in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Monday. The Monks fell in the opener, 12-4, and blanked the Bears, 9-0, in the nightcap.
Ursinus 12, Saint Joseph's 4
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ursinus grabbed an early lead with a run off three hits in the bottom of the first and scored four more off four hits in the second to secure a 5-0 advantage.
Saint Joseph's fought back into contention with three runs off three hits in the fifth, as juniors Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.), Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) and Jameson Collins (Sandown, N.H.) knocked in a run apiece to make it a 4-3 game.
The situation quickly spiraled out of control in the bottom of the fifth, when the Bears scored six runs off five hits while the Monks sent three different pitchers to the hill.
Ursinus led 12-3 through six before Saint Joseph's tacked on a run in the seventh, when freshman Anthony DiPrizio (Rochester, N.H.) led off with a pinch-hit double and later scored on an infield error.
LEADERS
- Senior left fielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) went 3-4 with a run scored
- Barbati was 2-4 with a run and an RBI
- Sophomore Travis Godbout (Portland, Maine) took the loss after allowing five runs off seven hits and a walk with one strikeout in two innings
- Sophomore Philip LeVangie (Hanover, Mass.) was effective in 1.1 innings of mop-up duty, allowing an unearned run with a walk and a strikeout
NOTEWORTHY
Saint Joseph's stranded 12 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the second and third innings.
Saint Joseph's 9, Ursinus 0
HOW IT HAPPENED
With a quick turnaround after a lopsided loss, St. Joe's managed to refocus and scored right out of the gates when freshman center fielder Jared Gagne (Dover, N.H.) worked a leadoff walk and later scored on a Reuillard base hit to left-center.
The game cruised along until the bottom of the fourth when the Royal Blue plated three runs off four hits to secure a 4-0 cushion. With two out and Collins on second after roping a double, DiPrizio followed suit with a two-bagger of his own and came around to score on a Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) single. Freshman shortstop Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) extended the Monks' lead with a base knock to right, sending McCoomb home and lifting SJC to a 4-0 advantage through four.
The Monks tacked on three more runs, including two on one swing, in the fifth. With two down, senior Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus) doubled to left-center and was lifted in favor of freshman pinch runner Tyler St. Pierre (Gray, Maine), who later trotted home when Collins turned around a 1-2 pitch well beyond the left-center wall for his first NCAA home run. St. Joe's held a 7-0 cushion after junior Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) walked, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on a DiPrizio knock to center.
Saint Joseph's completed the game scoring in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Greg Emanuelson (Hudson, N.H.) delivered a two-out, two-run single to make it a 9-0 game.
LEADERS
- Collins went 2-3 with two runs, a double, a homer, and two RBI
- DiPrizio was 2-3 with a run, a double, and a pair of RBI
- Murphy added two hits and an RBI in three at-bats
- Reuillard went 2-4 with a run, a double, and an RBI
- Freshman Grayson Jennings (Bedford, N.H.) made the most out of his first collegiate start, scattering three hits with three walks and eight strikeouts over six frames to pick up the win
- Senior reliever Riley Cox (Westford, Mass.) worked a clean seventh inning with a strikeout and a pair of groundouts
NOTEWORTHY
Saint Joseph's stranded just six runners in the victory…Cox required only seven pitches to set down the side in order in the seventh…through four games the Monks' pitching staff has fanned 30 batters with just 13 walks in 27 innings.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the split, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-2 in the history of the series with Ursinus, a team the Monks had not faced since the 1998 Spring Trip prior to today's contests.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's plays a single nine-inning game versus Montclair State at 9:15 AM tomorrow.
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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.
