PHOTO COURTESY OF BLUE EGG IMAGES
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - #2/15 Webster University (4-2) edged Saint Joseph's College (2-7), 3-1, in a RussMatt Central Florida Invitational baseball contest on Saturday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Gorloks, ranked second in the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll and 15th in the most recent D3Baseball.com national poll, scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the third as a mishandled double play attempt prolonged the inning. Junior third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill.) notched an RBI single to left field and later scored on a sac fly off the bat of junior right fielder Adam Lovell (Lafayette, Ind.) to lift Webster to the 2-0 lead.
The Monks cut their deficit to one run in unconventional fashion in the top of the fourth. Senior first baseman Drew Healey (Rochester, N.H.) and freshman designated hitter Jonathan Dube (Rochester, N.H.) rapped back-to-back singles to set up a first and third situation with one out. The Gorloks then botched a rare hidden ball trick play, as Swords tagged Healey at third but Webster senior starting pitcher Cooper Hake (Lincoln, Ill.) was standing on the mound at the time. The umpires huddled for several moments before correctly calling a balk on Hake, as hidden ball trick tries – as infrequent as they are – cannot be attempted with the pitcher standing on the pitching mound dirt.
The 2-1 score remained until the bottom of the fifth when Adam Lovell knocked in freshman pinch runner Scott Lovell (Lafayette, Ind.) with a sac fly to left field.
Saint Joseph's had a prime opportunity to score in the top of the seventh, when senior left fielder Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) and junior catcher Matthew Martinello (Woodbridge, Conn.) opened with consecutive singles, but Webster managed to turn a huge double play and Hake induced a harmless flyout to center field to cancel the threat.
ON THE MOUND:
Sophomore starter Matt Poff (Pelham, N.H.) was excellent over seven strong innings but falls to 0-2 on the season despite allowing just one earned run off seven hits and no walks with four strikeouts. Sophomore Matt Bergeron (Salem, N.H.) struck out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect eighth inning of relief.
Hake matched Poff almost pitch for pitch and improves to 1-0 on the year after scattering seven hits while allowing one run and fanning three in eight innings. Senior Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill.) struck out the side in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.
OFF THE BAT:
- Martinello was 2-3 with a pair of singles
- Swords went 2-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss the Monks fall to 0-2 all-time versus Webster University – a team that St. Joe's last played in a 5-0 setback on March 14th, 2013 in Florida.
NEXT!
The Monks conclude the spring break trip tomorrow with a 9:30 AM game versus Cornell College.
