There were high expectations for the 2007 Saint Joe's softball team coming off a successful 2006 season with a final record of 24-17. Seven of nine starters returned in 2007, which started off with the team's annual trip to Fort Myers, Florida, in mid-March.
The Monks opened up with four straight losses to quality opponents, including Ohio Wesleyan, Keene State and Rutgers of Newark. Saint Joe's registered its first win on the trip against Skidmore College by a score of 6-2. Sophomore pitcher Gabrielle Burrola led the way with 7 innings pitched and 7 strikeouts. She also contributed 2 hits in the Monks' first win. After defeating Mount Ida 12-2 for the second win on the trip, the Monks dropped the next two games to fall to 2-6 on the season. On the ninth game of the trip, Saint Joe's got a no-hitter from Burrola to beat Eastern Nazarene 8-0. It was Burrola's first career no-hitter and offensively, the Monks got 3 hits from sophomore Kim Bechard and two hits and two RBI from freshman Jillian Kimball. The Monks ended the trip with a hard-fought 11-7 loss to Ohio Wesleyan and finish with a record of 3-7.
After a two-week layoff, the team dropped two games to Brandeis 9-0 and 12-2 on a windy day in Waltham, Mass. The only highlight came when junior Megan Farrell connected on a majestic home run which hit a passing train in the air. It was Farrell's first career home run.
The Monks moved on to sweep Husson College in two one-run games by scores of 2-1 and 9-8. In the second game freshman Christy Wezowicz picked up the first win of her college career by pitching three innings in relief. Gavi Burrola had four RBI and pitched the final inning to earn a save.
From there, the Monks got overpowered by local rival USM, losing
both games by a combined score of 21-0. This dropped the team to
5-11 on the season.
After splitting a doubleheader with Plymouth State, the Saint Joe's
softball team swept Maine Maritime by scores of 8-0 and 4-3. In the
second game, senior Colleen Delahanty went the
distance allowing three runs as the Monks held on for a tough 4-3
victory.
The team won its third game in a row after beating U-Maine Presque Isle by a score of 5-0. The Monks pounded out ten hits in this game with multiple hits coming from Alysn Ludwig, Liddy van der Linden, and Gabrielle Burrola. Following this win, the team's record stood at 9-12.
The team ran into a rough stretch, losing two games to Colby College and two games to Suffolk University. The Monks lost their bats against Colby, being shut out in both games with scores of 2-0, 2-0. The team received good pitching in both games, but could muster only 7 hits in both games combined. Against Suffolk, the team struggled again to score, dropping the first game 4-1, and couldn't hold onto a lead in the second game, eventually losing 9-4. Meg Farrell continued her hot hitting in the second game with 2 hits and 2 RBI.
The Monks finished the season strong, winning seven of their last eight games. After sweeping Lyndon State College 10-2 and 4-0, the Monks followed up the wins with two more against Salem State College. After an easy 9-1 win in the first game, Saint Joe's waited until their final at-bat as Gabrielle Burrola had a walk-off two-run double to key the win.
Saint Joe's moved on to win two games against rival U-Maine Farmington to run the consecutive win streak to six games. They scored 11 runs in both wins combined and were led by freshman Kayla Soucy who had three hits in the second game. Freshman Anna Willis also contributed 3 hits and the Monks again got good pitching from Gavi Burrola, who fanned 8 in the first game. Colleen Delahanty and Christy Wezowicz combined to hold UMF to just 3 runs in the second game.
The final games of the season were played against a tough Bowdoin College club who came into the contest with a record of 25-14. Christy Wezowicz started her first college game and pitched well, but the Monks fell 4-0. In the second game, all six seniors started and played the whole game as the Saint Joe's softball team ended the season with a 4-3 win. It was Coach Jamie Smyth's 200th career win and put the Monks in the books with a 16-17 record. Senior first baseman Jamie Morrison led the way, knocking in two runs for the Monks.
The team hopes to enter their new conference, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) next year with a bang. They will return 10 players from this year's squad and look forward to facing new rivals in the upcoming 2008 season.
