LYNN, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (1-2) suffered a pair of 3-2 setbacks at the hands of Fisher College at Fraser Field on Friday evening.
GAME ONE – Fisher 3, Saint Joseph's 2:
Fisher grabbed a 2-0 lead with two out in the bottom of the first inning when designated hitter Ivanuel Hernandez doubled home a pair of runs. The Monks cut the Falcons' lead in half in the top of the third, when freshman second baseman Dawson Gundlah (York, Maine) doubled and scored when senior designated hitter Drew Healey (Rochester, N.H.) singled up the middle.
St. Joe's tied the game in the top of the fifth on an impressive hustle play by senior right fielder Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.), who singled and eventually scored all the way from second base on a wild pitch.
But the Falcons proceeded to regain the lead in the bottom of the fifth, when second baseman Nicholas Lucchese doubled with two out and later scored on an infield error.
ON THE MOUND:
- Junior starter Matt Poff (Pelham, N.H.) took the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) off four hits and three walks with a pair of punchouts over five innings
- Senior reliever Hunter Richardson (North Monmouth, Maine) walked one in a scoreless inning of work
- For Fisher, starter William Carpenter improved to 2-0 on the young season after yielding two runs (one earned) off five hits and two walks with five strikeouts over five frames; Jose Galan notched his first save of the year after fanning five batters in two innings of relief
OFF THE BAT:
- Neither team had a repeat-hitter in the opener – Gundlah doubled for the Monks while Lucchese and Hernandez registered two-base hits for the Falcons
GAME TWO – Fisher 3, Saint Joseph's 2:
Saint Joseph's kicked off the scoring in the nightcap with a run in the top of the third, when Richardson led off with a double and later scored on a Healey sacrifice fly to center field.
Fisher went on to secure a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth, when right fielder John Batista roped a two-run single to left field.
The Monks managed to tie the game in the top of the seventh when senior left fielder Mattingly Simaan (Mahopac, N.Y.) led off with a walk and was removed in favor of pinch runner Kevin Aylward (East Bridgewater, Mass.), who later crossed the plate on a sac fly by Gravel.
St. Joe's was unable to salvage the split however, as Lucchese delivered a walk-off single with two out in the bottom of the seventh.
ON THE MOUND:
- SJC junior starter Johnathan Flynn (Holden, Mass.) was outstanding in his first start of the season as the righthander allowed just two hits with six strikeouts over five innings
- Freshman Matt Thibault (Nashua, N.H.) and senior Jonathan Marchia (Chicopee, Mass.) combined to allow three runs off four hits and two walks with two K's in 1.2 innings of relief
- Fisher starter Andres Meletiche went the distance and improves to 2-0 on the year giving up two runs off six hits with three strikeouts
OFF THE BAT:
- Richardson was 2-4 with a run scored and a double
- Fisher third baseman Reynaldo Vega went 2-4 with a pair of singles
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the losses, Saint Joseph's falls to 2-2 all-time versus Fisher College. The last time these two teams met between the lines was on March 10th, 2002, when the Monks posted 6-1 and 11-4 victories.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's returns to action tomorrow with a pair of games at Eastern Nazarene College, The opener is slated to start at 2:00 PM.
