WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (8-2) won both ends of a doubleheader with Thomas College (0-7) in RussMatt Central Florida Invitational action at Chain of Lakes Field #1 on Friday afternoon. The Monks opened with a come-from-behind 15-7 triumph and capped the sweep with a 7-0 victory.

GAME ONE – Saint Joseph's 15, Thomas 7

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks opened their second southern swing with a pair of runs of three hits in the bottom of the first but the Terriers, with the help of three SJC fielding errors, responded with seven runs – three in the second and four in the fourth – to take a 7-2 lead. Saint Joseph's immediately rallied, as senior third baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and senior designated hitter Jameson Collins (Sandown, N.H.) jacked a grand slam well beyond the left field wall to knot the contest at 7-7. Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.), Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine), and Black followed with RBI singles to make it a 12-7 game through four frames.

Junior Philip LeVangie (Hanover, Mass.) and senior Cejay Suarez (Abington, Mass.) combined to hold the Thomas bats to just one hit over the final three frames, while the Monks plated three more runs off four knocks in the seventh, to account for the 15-7 final.

ON THE MOUND:

SJC senior starter Nick Malatesta (Wrentham, Mass.) allowed three runs (one earned) off four hits and a walk with one strikeout in two-plus innings but did not figure into the decision, as junior reliever Marc Poirier (Lunenburg, Mass.) earned his second win of the year after yielding four unearned runs off three hits with two punch outs in two frames. LeVangie allowed a hit and fanned one in two innings of work and Suarez tossed a clean seventh with a pair of K's.

Thomas starter Cody Cousins allowed two runs (one earned) off seven hits in three innings while the next man up, Jonah Gorgone, gave up five runs off two hits – including the Collins tater – in just 1/3 inning of relief. Matt Rutherford took the loss after yielding five runs (one earned) off six hits in 2/3 inning, Antonio Martinez allowed one hit in an otherwise clean fifth inning, and Ryan Jurgewich surrendered three runs off four hits and a walk with one strikeout in the sixth.

OFF THE BAT – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Collins led the offensive charge by going 3-5 with a home run and six RBI
• Black continued his torrid pace by going 4-4 with three runs, a double, and three RBI
• Murphy went 3-3 with four runs scored, an RBI, and a pair of walks
• Sophomore left fielder Noah McDaniel (Eliot, Maine) added three hits in four at-bats
• McCoomb was 2-4 with two runs and an RBI
• Junior catcher Jacob White (Salem, N.H.) went 2-4 with two runs and a double
• Senior right fielder Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) was 2-5 with a run and an RBI

OFF THE BAT – THOMAS:

• Shortstop Darren Kelly went 3-4 with a run scored and an RBI
• Catcher Riley Simonetti was 1-2 with a run and a pair of RBI

GAME TWO – Saint Joseph's 7, Thomas 0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The second game of the day had a completely different tone, as the SJC pitching staff was dominant, allowing just two runners past first base in a four-hit shutout performance.

The Monks grabbed the lead in the top of the third, when sophomore center fielder Jared Gagne (Dover, N.H.) led off with a single, stole second, and scored on a two-out base hit by Collins. St. Joe's took advantage of a pair of Thomas errors with five runs off four hits in the fourth and senior right fielder Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) launched his first home run of the season over the left field fence in the seventh to cap the day's scoring.

ON THE MOUND:

Sophomore starter Grayson Jennings (Mililani, Hawaii) earned his first win of the year after tossing four solid frames, fanning four with two hits and two walks allowed, in his second start of the year. Junior Steven Albert (Worcester, Mass.) struck out three and yielded one hit in two excellent relief innings and senior southpaw Ben Coleman (Williamstown, Mass.) completed the shutout effort with a one-hit seventh.

Thomas starter Brandon Hubbard falls to 0-2 on the season after giving up six runs on eight hits and a walk with four punch-outs in 3.1 innings. Thomas Paola worked 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and Jay Chenard allowed one run – the Betts homer – in two frames of mop-up duty.

OFF THE BAT – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Collins was 2-2 with a pair of RBI
• Gagne went 2-4 with two runs, a double, and a stolen base

OFF THE BAT – THOMAS:

• Center fielder Derek LeBlanc was 1-3 with a steal

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victories, Saint Joseph's improves to 52-9 in the history of the series with Thomas College. The Monks have now defeated the Terriers in five-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2011 campaign.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's faces another New England Region opponent, Worcester State University, in a nine-inning game tomorrow at Chain of Lakes Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM. Thomas takes on Crown (Minn.) for a pair of games tomorrow with the first contest starting at 11:30 AM at Lake Myrtle Field #1.