STANDISH, Maine – Johnson & Wales University (8-7, 5-1 GNAC) swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball doubleheader versus Saint Joseph's College (4-10, 0-2 GNAC) at Richard W. Bailey Field on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats blanked the Monks, 6-0, in the opener and wrapped up the sweep with a 6-1 win in the closing contest.
In game one, Johnson & Wales grabbed an early lead with two runs off three hits in the top of the first. Things looked promising in the bottom of the inning, as sophomore second baseman Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) led off with a sharp single to left, but JWU senior pitcher Jennifer Corona (Middle Island, N.Y.) settled in and retired 14 consecutive batters, a string that was snapped with a two-out single off the bat of freshman catcher Megan Eagleston (Reading, Mass.) in the fifth frame.
In the top of the fifth, the Wildcats managed to plate four runs off three hits to grab a 6-0 cushion. The Monks threatened in the bottom of the sixth, when Corona walked the bases loaded, but fanned sophomore third baseman Kaylee Burns (Saco, Maine) to thwart the threat.
Corona, who went the distance allowing two hits and three walks with seven K's, also starred in the batter's box, having gone 3-3 with a double and three RBI in the victory.
Saint Joseph's sophomore starter Kate Whitney (Jonesboro, Maine) took the loss and falls to 3-3 after allowing six runs off six hits and three walks over five innings. Sophomore Caitlyn King (Old Town, Maine) allowed two hits and a walk in a pair of otherwise clean innings of relief.
Johnson & Wales employed a similar blueprint in the second contest, as the Wildcats grabbed an early lead with a run off two hits in the second inning and tacked on four runs on five hits and an SJC error in the fifth.
As it played out, the Monks scored their only run of the afternoon with two out in the bottom of the fifth, when Pomerleau singled to right and scored on a double off the bat of freshman left fielder Madeline Wood (Madison, Maine).
JWU sophomore Kristin Frost (Pearl City, Hawaii) picked up the win after allowing a run off five hits and two walks with six K's in a complete-game effort and was also 2-4 with two doubles and a pair of runs in the triumph.
SJC junior Kristal Smith (Pittston, Maine) falls to 1-5 on the year after giving up six runs off 11 hits and three walks with four strikeouts in six innings. King came on in relief in the seventh and worked a perfect inning.
Saint Joseph's is back in action Wednesday with a GNAC doubleheader at Suffolk University. First pitch is scheduled for 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 474-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.
