STANDISH, ME – Liddy van der Linden ’10 (Worcester, MA) went 4-6 with four runs, four RBI, two doubles and a home run and Alyssa Dunn ’11 (Standish, ME) was 5-6 with a run and two RBI in a doubleheader sweep, with 10-9 and 8-6 wins, over GNAC rival Pine Manor College on Saturday afternoon. The pair of victories pushes the Monks’ winning streak to 17 games.
The Monks were able to overcome seven errors in the twinbill with timely hitting and clutch pitching performances by starting pitchers Kiera Walsh ’11 (Benton, ME) and Christy Wezowicz ’10 (Granville, MA). St. Joe’s trailed and rallied several times in the opener, with the Royal Blue pushing five runs across in the bottom of the sixth to keep the winning streak alive.
Pine Manor jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, as Courtney Wallace ’10 (Steep Falls, ME), Siobhan Raymond ’10 (Winchendon, MA) and Kaylyn Delgado ’13 (Worcester, MA) all drove home runs for the visitors.
In the bottom of the first, Danyelle Shufelt ’13 (Sutton, VT) reached on a fielder’s choice and later scored on an error to put the Monks on the board, but the Gators added a run on a solo blast by Kayla Nielsen ’12 (Saco, ME), a lead off big fly, to maintain the three-run advantage.
The cushion would be short-lived for the Gators, however, as St. Joe’s knotted the game at four apiece in their very next turn, as Jillian Kimball ’10 (Albany Township, ME) notched a two-run single and Dunn scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the third.
Saint Joseph’s captured its first lead of the day when Heather Tripp ’13 (Lovell, ME) tripled and scampered home on a wild pitch in the fourth inning.
In the top of the fifth, Pine Manor went on to retake the lead with four runs off two hits and three SJC miscues. The visitors increased their cushion to 9-5 with a Delgado RBI single in the sixth inning before St. Joe’s scored a five spot in the bottom of the frame to capture the lead for good, as Walsh did not proceeded to retire the side with three punch outs in the top of the seventh. Emily Leverone '12 (Hampton, NH) singled home two with a bases-loaded single and van der Linden and Dunn smacked back to back doubles in the Monks’ final turn of the opening contest.
Dunn and van der Linden both registered a pair of hits and Leverone and Kimball recorded two RBI apiece in the 10-9 win. Walsh allowed six earned runs and nine hits with six walks and four K’s and improves to 6-2 on the season with the complete-game victory.
Gators pitcher Tia Nelson ’13 (Rockport, MA) took the losing decision after allowing nine earned runs and eight hits in 5.2 innings with six walks and five strikeouts. Delgado was 3-3 with a run, two RBI and a double for the visitors.
The nightcap contest started off well for the hosts, as van der Linden connected on her sixth homer of the season, and 10th of her outstanding career, with one out. The blast was a two-run jack, scoring Leverone, and provided the Monks with an early cushion.
The Monks led 4-1 after three frames, as van der Linden and Dunn connected for consecutive run-scoring two-baggers, again, to lift the Royal Blue to a three-run cushion. The Gators answered by gaining their only lead of the closing contest with four runs off just one hit as St. Joe’s managed to make four infield errors.
After a forgettable inning, Saint Joseph’s went to work with the bats and scored three runs, two off an RBI single by Leverone, to regain a lead the Monks would not relinquish. Maria Labbe ’12 (Lewiston, ME) drove home the first run of the frame with a sac bunt.
The teams swapped runs late, with the Gators scoring on Nielsen’s second long ball of the game, and third of the day, with one out in the seventh, to make the final score 8-6, Monks.
Dunn was 3-3 with an RBI and a double and van der Linden was 2-4 with two runs, three RBI, a double and a tater in the nightcap. Wezowicz allowed two earned runs off six hits and three walks in seven innings and improves to 7-2 this spring.
Nelson went 2-3 with the bat and allowed seven earned runs off nine hits and six walks in the circle for the Gators. Nielson was 3-4 with two runs and two RBI in the losing effort.
Saint Joseph’s (21-5, 14-0 GNAC) will host GNAC opponent St. Joseph (CT) on Sunday in a doubleheader slated to begin at 12:00 PM, while Pine Manor will host Johnson & Wales tomorrow in a conference twinbill at 12:00 PM.
