STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (16-11, 6-2 GNAC) won a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contests versus Rivier University (0-6, 0-6 GNAC) at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Saturday afternoon. The Monks opened the day with a 6-1 victory and completed the sweep with a 4-0 triumph.
GAME ONE – Saint Joseph's 6, Rivier 1
The Monks secured a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second, when senior catcher Matthew Martinello (Woodbridge, Conn.) singled home a run and later scored on a bases-loaded walk issued to senior second baseman Luke Johnson (East Hampton, Conn.). Sandwiched between these plays was a run scored by senior right fielder Dylan Fournier (South Windsor, Conn.), who reached on an error and crossed the plate on another infield miscue.
The Raiders broke through with their first run of the day in the top of the fifth, when sophomore Patrick Young (Billerica, Mass.) reached with a single, moved to second on a Christian Greener (Hermon, Maine) sac bunt, and scored on a Patrick Quinn (Seabrook, N.H.) base hit.
Saint Joseph's immediately responded with two runs off three hits in the bottom of the fifth, as freshman Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) doubled home graduate student Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) and later scored on a two-out single up the middle off the bat of junior third baseman Ronan Chisholm (North Chatham, Mass.) to lift the hosts to a 5-1 advantage.
Rivier had a prime opportunity to cut into the SJC lead in the top of the sixth when the visitors had the bases loaded with nobody out, but freshman reliever Matt Thibault (Nashua, N.H.) worked out of the jam with a strikeout, flyout, and groundout.
The Monks capped the scoring in the bottom of the sixth when sophomore shortstop Zach Miles (Concord, N.H.) was hit by a pitch, stole second, and advanced 180 on successive passed balls.
ON THE MOUND:
- Sophomore starter Sam Jalbert (Mascouche, Que.) picked up his second win of the season after allowing one run off five hits with six strikeouts over five innings; Thibault worked two scoreless innings while allowing two hits and two walks with one strikeout
- For Rivier, junior starter Devin Albino (North Smithfield, R.I.) suffered the setback after giving up five runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks with six punchouts in five frames; senior Tyler Bradanese (Uxbridge, Mass.) and junior Brandon Kelly (Lincoln, R.I.) combined to allow an unearned run in an inning of relief
OFF THE BAT:
- Stephens went 2-3 with two runs, a double, and an RBI
- Gravel was 2-4 with a run and a double, and a stolen base
- Junior Jake Laplume (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) stole a pair of bases
- For Rivier, senior center fielder Frederick Kazalski (Dracut, Mass.) went 2-3 with a walk
GAME TWO – Saint Joseph's 4, Rivier 0
The Monks received all the offensive production they would require with two out in the bottom of the first, when sophomore catcher Jackson Stanton (Saugus, Mass.) belted a three-run homer over the left field wall. The hit was the first of the nightcap for the Monks, as Johnson and Gravel both reached via base on balls and trotted home on Stanton's second long ball of the season.
St. Joe's tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when sophomore Jonathan Dube (Rochester, N.H.) tripled to right-center and promptly scored on a Dawson Gundlah (York, Maine) sac fly.
With two out in the top of the seventh, Rivier managed to load the bases on a pair of singles and a hit batsman, but senior reliever Jonathan Marchia (Chicopee, Mass.) bucked down to strike out junior Corey Cochran (Salem, N.H.) to close out the contest.
ON THE MOUND:
- Senior starter Zach Ham (Saco, Maine) improved to 2-0 on the season after tossing three one-hit innings with three strikeouts; relievers Devan Harrison (Bourne, Mass.), Colin Jackson (Brentwood, N.H.), Hunter Richardson (North Monmouth, Maine), and Marchia combined to allow five hits and a walk with four strikeouts in four innings of work
- For Rivier, senior Ryan Schaefer (Everett, Mass.) took the loss after yielding three runs off three hits and four walks with four punchouts in five innings; Sophomore John Jepson (Pelham, N.H.) gave up a run on two hits in an inning or relief
OFF THE BAT:
- Stanton was 1-2 with a three-run home run and Dube went 1-1 with a triple and a run scored
- For the Raiders, Kazalski was 2-4 with a pair of singles
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the sweep Saint Joseph's improves to 30-1 in the history of the series with Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in 25 consecutive meetings dating back to the 2008 campaign.
NEXT!
The Monks will host Fisher College on Tuesday at 4:00 PM.
