FORT MYERS, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College improved to 5-1 on the season with a pair of victories in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Wednesday. The Monks defeated College of Wooster, 4-3, and followed up with a 6-3 triumph over Geneva College.
Saint Joseph's 4, College of Wooster 3
With the game scoreless through two frames, the Monks plated three runs off three hits and a Wooster miscue in the top of the third, when junior first baseman Melissa Mayhew (Hiram, Maine) and senior left fielder Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) notched RBI singles and sophomore catcher Carla Tripp (Lovell, Maine) scored on a wild pitch.
Carly Schoenstein (Bethel Park, Pa.) cut the Monks' lead down to 3-2 with one swing in the bottom of the third, as the senior shortstop belted a two-run jack to make it a one-run game.
Saint Joseph's answered in the top of the fourth, when junior second baseman Alyssa Wade (Peru, Maine) led off with a single and later scored on a passed ball, lifting the Royal Blue to a 4-2 cushion.
Wooster tacked on a run in the sixth when sophomore Jenna Kendall (Marshallville, Ohio) launched a solo home run, accounting for the 4-3 final.
The Monks featured two repeat hitters in the victory, as Mayhew went 2-4 with a run, a double and an RBI and Wade was 2-3 with a pair of runs scored. Senior pitcher Laura Jordan (Orrington, Maine) collected her first win of the season after yielding two runs off four hits and three walks with a trio of K's in four innings. Sophomore hurler Danielle Egan (Waterboro, Maine) notched the first save of her career after tossing three innings of one-run, two-hit relief and fanned four batters during the stint.
With the result, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-1 all-time versus College of Wooster as the Monks have now defeated the Fighting Scots in three-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2009 campaign.
Saint Joseph's 6, Geneva 3
Saint Joseph's was forced to rally from an early deficit in the nightcap, as Geneva grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning when sophomore third baseman Lucia Fee (Wampum, Pa.) slapped an RBI double and later scored on a base hit by senior pitcher Andrea Hinds (Montrose, Pa.).
The Monks chipped away at the lead with single runs in the third and fourth innings. In the top of the third, senior third baseman Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) earned a two-out walk, stole second and scored on a Tripp double to left field. Hendrix led off the fourth with a triple and jogged home on a two-out single off the bat of junior right fielder Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, N.H.), tying the game at two-apiece.
St. Joe's managed to take the lead with two runs off four hits and a Geneva error in the sixth, when freshman second baseman Kelsy Gaddy (Limington, Maine) notched a run-scoring single and Hendrix, who reached with a double, scored on a throwing error, lifting the Monks to a 4-2 advantage through five and a half frames.
Geneva tightened the collar with a run in the sixth, but Egan – on in relief for starter Erica Boulanger (Somersworth, N.H.) – minimized the damage of a bases-loaded situation with an inning-ending groundout.
The Monks scored a pair of insurance runs in the seventh to account for the 6-3 final. Jordan singled and Hendrix walked and both seniors scored when Wade delivered a clutch two-out base hit to right field.
Egan ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh, but escaped unscathed with the help of a very unconventional double play. With one out and junior Laura Beck (Canfield, Ohio) on first, Fee stepped to the plate and launched a double to center, but Beck was cut down at home on a perfect relay - Tripp to Jordan to freshman catcher Alyssah Dennett (Augusta, Maine) – and Fee was eventually tagged after being caught in a rundown between second and third, an out that ended the game.
Hendrix was 2-3 with three runs, a double and a triple and Tripp was 2-4 with a two-bagger in the victory. Boulanger earned her second win of the young season after allowing two runs off seven hits and a pair of walks in five innings and Egan collected her second save of the day after yielding a run off three hits and a walk over two innings.
The Monks and Tornadoes had never met on the softball diamond prior to this afternoon.
Saint Joseph's resumes play tomorrow with games versus Wilmington (9:00 AM) and Rockford (11:00 AM).
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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.
