STANDISH, Maine – Senior second baseman Luke Johnson (East Hampton, Conn.) belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to break a 6-6 tie and help Saint Joseph's College (13-10) defeat Fisher College (22-9), 10-6, in a non-conference baseball game at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Tuesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks opened the game scoring with four runs off four hits in the bottom of the second, when junior third baseman Ronan Chisholm (North Chatham, Mass.) lofted a sacrifice fly to center and senior right fielder Kevin Aylward (East Bridgewater, Mass.) blasted a three-run jack beyond the left field wall.
The lead did not stand for long, as the Falcons retaliated with five runs on two hits and an SJC error in the top of the third. Dennis Santiago (Orlando, Fla.) and Jonathan Rosado (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) plated runs with sac flies, Ivanuel Hernandez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) worked a bases-loaded walk, and Jacob Deziel (Merrimac, Mass.) put his team on top with a two-run double to left-center.
Senior center fielder Hunter Richardson (North Monmouth, Maine) led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to left and freshman Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) lifted the Royal Blue to a 6-5 edge with a two-out RBI single.
John Batista (Lawrence, Mass.) started the top of the fifth with a leadoff walk and later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 6-6.
With runners on second and third and two out, the Falcons called on lefthander Fernando Ortiz (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) to face Johnson, a lefthanded hitter, but the tactic failed as the senior second sacker roped a blast down the right field line that wrapped around the foul pole for his first career home run.
St. Joe's tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Richardson sent freshman pinch runner Ryan Tessier (Concord, N.H.) home with a base hit to left-center.
ON THE MOUND:
- Freshman reliever Anthony Esposito (Orange, Conn.) picked up the win after allowing a run off three walks with a strikeout over two innings
- Richardson allowed two hits and a walk with two K's in three scoreless innings of relief to pick up his first career save
- Sophomore starter Colin Jackson (Brentwood, N.H.) allowed five runs (two earned) off three hits and five walks with one strikeout in three innings
- For Fisher, freshman starter Andres Meletiche (Guayanilla, Puerto Rico) suffered his second loss of the season after allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits and a walk over four frames; relievers Angel Rivera (Caguas, Puerto Rico), Ortiz, and Jose Galan (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) combined to yield two runs off four hits with six strikeouts in four innings
OFF THE BAT:
- Chisholm was 3-3 with a run and an RBI
- Left fielder Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) went 3-5
- Richardson was 2-4 with a two-run home run and a stolen base
- Johnson went 2-5 with two runs, a home run, and three RBI
- Stephens added two hits, a run, and an RBI in four at-bats
- For Fisher, Hernandez went 2-4 with an RBI, Deziel knocked in a pair, and Batista scored two runs
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-3 all-time versus Fisher College, a team that defeated the Monks three times earlier this spring.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host conference-rival Anna Maria College on Thursday in a doubleheader slated to start at 2:00 PM.
