WEYMOUTH, Mass. - Saint Joseph's College (2-3) split a pair of non-conference baseball games with Eastern Nazarene College (1-3) at Libby Field on Saturday afternoon. The Monks fell in the opener, 8-7, but rebounded with a 4-2 win in the nightcap.
GAME ONE – Eastern Nazarene 8, Saint Joseph's 7
The Monks held a 7-2 lead through two-and-a-half innings but the Lions plated three runs off a pair of doubles in the bottom of the third to make it a 7-5 game and tied the contest in the bottom of the seventh by working two bases-loaded walks. Junior first baseman Hunter Leroux-Porter (Greenland, N.H.) singled in the game-winning run to lift the hosts to a walk-off triumph.
ON THE MOUND:
- Sophomore starter Sam Jalbert (Mascouche, Que.) allowed five runs off five hits and a walk with four strikeouts over 2.2 innings
- Junior Devin Harrison (Bourne, Mass.) allowed two runs (one earned) and fanned a pair in 3.2 innings of solid relief
- Junior George Welch (Derry, N.H.) took the loss after allowing a run off a pair of walks
- Senior Hunter Richardson (North Monmouth, Maine) allowed a hit and a walk in the bottom of the seventh
- For Eastern Nazarene, junior starter Morgan Weast (Cincinnati, Ohio) gave up seven runs (three earned) off four hits and five walks over 2.1 innings; junior reliever Ryan Sharkey (Salisbury, Mass.) was dominant in relief and fanned 10 batters while allowing just two hits over 4.2 innings
OFF THE BAT:
- Freshman third baseman Dawson Gundlah (York, Maine) was the Monks' lone repeat-hitter and was 2-3 with a run, an RBI and a stolen base
- Senior left fielder Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) was 1-4 with a triple, an RBI, and a stolen base
- Senior shortstop Justin Juliano (Lynnfield, Mass.) went 1-3 with a run, an RBI and a stolen base
- Senior right fielder Kevin Aylward (East Bridgewater, Mass.) was 1-3 with a run scored
- For Eastern Nazarene, Shane McNamara was 2-3 with two runs, Leroux-Porter went 2-3 with a run, a double, and a pair of RBI, and Steven Pesce was 1-4 with a double and four RBI
GAME TWO – Saint Joseph's 4, Eastern Nazarene 2
The Monks rallied from a pair of one-run deficits to salvage a split. Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning, senior second baseman Luke Johnson (East Hampton, Conn.) registered an RBI single to knot the game at 1-1. Down 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Gravel delivered a two-run single to put his team on top for good.
St. Joe's tacked on an insurance run in the top of the sixth, when senior right fielder Dylan Fournier (South Windsor, Conn.) singled and later scored on a Johnson base hit to cap the game scoring.
ON THE MOUND:
- Freshman starter Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) allowed one run off two hits and three walks with one strikeout over three innings
- Freshman Brian Berthiaume (New Boston, N.H.) picked up his first NCAA victory after giving up a run off two hits and three walks with five strikeouts over two innings of relief
- Junior Matt Bergeron (Salem, N.H.) earned the save after tossing two perfect innings with a pair of K's
- For Eastern Nazarene, starter Briley Seiter did not factor into the decision after allowing a run off four hits and three walks with five punchouts over four frames and reliever Jamie Carey suffered the loss after yielding three runs (one earned) off four hits with four K's in three innings
OFF THE BAT:
- Fournier was 2-3 with a run scored
- Johnson went 2-3 with a pair of RBI
- Sophomore shortstop Zach Miles (Concord, N.H.) added two hits and a run in three at-bats
- For Eastern Nazarene, McNamara was 1-3 with a double
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the split, Saint Joseph's is now 16-1 all-time versus Eastern Nazarene College.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play Fisher College on Tuesday at Fraser Field in Lynn, Massachusetts. The first game of the doubleheader is slated to begin at 3:00 PM.
