PAXTON, Mass. – The Saint Joseph's College softball team (14-14, 9-3 GNAC) posted a pair of shutout victories over Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Anna Maria College (13-21, 6-10 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon. The Monks opened with a 3-0 triumph and earned the sweep with a 13-0 win in five innings in the closing contest.
GAME ONE:
St. Joe's kicked off the scoring with a run on two hits in the top of the second, when freshman Paige Connery (Tyngsboro, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice and later crossed home plate on an Amaya Dacier (Warwick, R.I.) base hit.
With junior starter Meredith Pence (Remington, Va.) holding the AMCATS in check, the 1-0 edge held until the top of the seventh when the Monks gained some breathing room by plating two runs on three hits and an Anna Maria error. Connery reached on an error and later scored on a Dacier fielder's choice and Emma Hodgkins (Raymond, N.H.) – who replaced Dacier as a pinch runner – sprinted home on a Taylor Owen (Wakefield, Mass.) single to cap the scoring.
IN THE CIRCLE:
- Pence was dominant in the win and improves to 7-5 on the season after tossing a complete-game two-hitter with seven strikeouts
- Anna Maria starter Sabrina Liston falls to 7-11 on the year after allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits with a pair of punchouts over seven frames
OFF THE BAT:
- Sophomore center fielder Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine) went 2-for-2
- Dacier was 1-for-3 with two RBI and Connery scored a pair of runs
GAME TWO:
The Monks put the nightcap away early by scoring nine runs on nine hits in the top of the second. Goodnough launched her first career homer – a solo blast well beyond the center field wall – and later notched an RBI single while first-year shortstop Rebecca Fleming (Belmont, N.H.) roped a two-run double, Connery plated a pair with a triple, and Owen, Bailey Rassol (Rehoboth, Mass.) and Olivia Howe produced RBI singles to give the visitors a 9-0 cushion.
St. Joe's tacked on four runs in the fourth when Goodnough tripled home a pair and Connery and Rylee Page (Somersworth, N.H.) registered an RBI apiece.
IN THE CIRCLE:
- Junior starter Emily Eagleston (Reading, Mass.) earned the win after tossing four two-hit innings and Hodgkins struck out on batter in a scoreless relief inning
- Anna Maria starter Eden Forget took the loss after yielding nine runs on 10 hits in 1.2 innings; Liston came on in relief and gave up four runs and five hits with two K's in 3.1 frames
OFF THE BAT:
- Goodnough was a double shy of hitting for the cycle and was 3-for-3 with three runs, a homer, a double and four RBI
- Fleming went 2-for-2 with a run, two doubles, and two RBI
- Howe was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI and Connery went 1-for-3 with a triple, a run, and three RBI
- Saylor Costa had both of the Anna Maria hits and was 2-for-2 with a pair of singles
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the sweep Saint Joseph's improves to 18-1 all-time versus Anna Maria College and has now defeated the AMCATS in 18-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2021 campaign.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play a pair of conference contests at Simmons University tomorrow. First pitch for the opener is slated for 12:00 PM.
