FORT MYERS, FL – The Saint Joseph's softball team improved to 3-1 with a pair of victories versus New England opponents in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Tuesday morning. The Monks opened the day with a 4-0 triumph over Salem State University and closed out the action with a thrilling 2-1 win in extras versus Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) (2-6).
GAME ONE
Against Salem State, the Monks provided starting pitcher Rae-Marie Copan (Newton, Mass.) with all the support she would require in the bottom of the first inning, when freshman center fielder Carla Tripp (Lovell, Maine) led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, sprinted to third when Connie Grovo (Limington, Maine) dropped down a sac bunt and scored on a Melissa Mayhew (Hiram, Maine) sacrifice fly to center.
Proving to be a sparkplug atop the Monks' lineup early in the season, Tripp ignited a three-run fourth inning with a bunt single and later scored on an outfield throw. Grovo singled and crossed home plate on a base hit from Mayhew, who scored when Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) grounded out to the right side with one out, lifting the Royal Blue to a 4-0 lead.
Copan stymied the Vikings' lineup, allowing just three hits with no walks or strikeouts in the complete-game shutout. The senior finesse pitcher did not allow a runner to move past second base in the game, which required just 90 minutes to complete.
With the bat, Grovo was 2-3 with a run, Mayhew drove home a pair, and senior left fielder Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) went 2-3 in the victory.
Starting pitcher Sarah Hastings took the loss for Salem State after yielding four runs off eight hits and a walk with two K's in four innings of work. Francesca Perreault tossed two scoreless innings in relief for the Vikings.
Right fielder Jess Raymond claimed a pair of the Vikings' three hits and was 2-2 in the losing effort.
GAME TWO
Facing a tough pitcher in sophomore Rachel Quackenbush (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.), the Monks struggled a bit offensively but prevailed with the help of some heads-up base running in a thrilling 2-1 extra-innings victory over MCLA.
The contest headed into the eighth inning tied at 0-0, but the Trailblazers threatened to break the scoreless deadlock on a pair of occasions. In the top of the third, MCLA had runners on second and third with nobody out, but SJC starter Erica Boulanger (Somersworth, N.H.) escaped the jam with a harmless pop-up and a strikeout.
The Monks faced the same situation in the fifth, but Boulanger kept the Trailblazers off the board again with an unconventional double-play ball to third baseman Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine).
With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, the Trailblazers scored the game's first run in the top of the eighth when Darien Sullivan sprinted home on a Michaela DiNicola groundout to second base.
In the bottom of the eighth, Jordan was placed on second and later scored the tying run when Grovo reached on an infield miscue with one out. Quackenbush fanned the following batter, but freshman shortstop Danica Gleason (South Portland, Maine) stepped to the plate with two down and delivered a single to right. The base hit initially pushed Grovo to third, but the senior continued home after being waved by Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92, who noticed the MCLA outfielder threw to second to stop Gleason from advancing, committing a play that, in effect, allowed the winning run to score.
With just nine hits combined, neither team featured a repeat-hitter as pitching was the story of the game for both programs. For the Monks, Boulanger scattered four hits and allowed an unearned run over eight frames while her counterpart, Quackenbush, boasted 14 punch outs while allowing two unearned runs off five hits and a pair of walks in 7.2 innings.
Saint Joseph's will enjoy an off day tomorrow and returns to action on Thursday with contests versus Mount Saint Mary (NY) (1:00 PM) and Minnesota-Morris (3:00 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 430-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.
