WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (4-2) swept a doubleheader with Husson University (4-5) in RussMatt Central Florida Invitational baseball action on Thursday evening. The Monks opened with a 6-3 triumph and picked up their third-consecutive win with a 3-0 nightcap victory.
GAME ONE:
Husson grabbed the first lead of the game in the top of the first, when Jackson Curtis and Joshua Scott roped back-to-back doubles. The Eagles claimed a 2-0 advantage on an unorthodox play in the top of the third, when Curtis popped out to SJC junior catcher Jackson Stanton (Saugus, Mass.) in foul territory with runners on first and second. After Stanton made the catch, both Husson runners tagged up to advance and the catcher's throw to third sailed into left field, allowing Akira Warren to score.
St. Joe's tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when grad student Drew Healey (Rochester, N.H.) plated a pair with a bases-loaded single. Husson reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth on an RBI double off the bat of Tyler Parke.
The lead was short-lived however as the Monks secured the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth, when junior Jonathan Dube (Rochester, N.H.) came to the plate as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded and one out. Dube came through with what proved to be the game-winning hit, a sharp single to right that sent Jake Laplume (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) and Dawson Gundlah (York, Maine) across the plate. Freshman center fielder Peter O'Brien (Scarborough, Maine), who earlier reached with a walk, scored on a wild pitch and Healey capped the scoring with an RBI single.
ON THE MOUND:
- SJC senior starter Johnny Flynn (Holden, Mass.) pitched well – allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks with two K's over five innings – but did not factor into the decision
- Senior reliever Devan Harrison earned the victory after yielding a run on three hits and two walks with a strikeout over two innings
- For Husson, Jake Gregoire suffered the loss after giving up three runs on a hit and four walks in one inning of relief
OFF THE BAT:
- Healey was 3-for-4 with three RBI
- Gundlah went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs
- Grad student Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) added two hits in three at-bats
- O'Brien worked a pair of walks and scored two runs
- For Husson, Kobe Rogerson was 3-for-4 with a double
GAME TWO:
With freshman starting pitcher Jason Johnson (Thomaston, Conn.) dealing, the Monks produced all the offense they would need in the top of the second, when freshman Jordan Valentino (Simsbury, Conn.) drove home Dube and Gravel with a double to left field.
For good measure, the Monks tacked on an insurance run in the top of the fourth when sophomore first baseman Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) led off with a single and later scored on a Gundlah sacrifice fly.
ON THE MOUND:
- Johnson dazzled in his first collegiate start, as the freshman righthander picked up the in after tossing five one-hit innings with three walks and eight strikeouts
- Sophomore Matt Thibeault (Nashua, N.H.) tossed an inning of scoreless relief
- Senior Matthew Bergeron (Salem, N.H.) notched the second save of his career after working a scoreless seventh inning
- For Husson, starter Chris Naylor took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts in 2.1 innings; Harrison Lendrum gave up a run on three hits with six K's in 4.2 innings of relief duty
OFF THE BAT:
- Valentino went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI and was the lone repeat-hitter in the nightcap
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's is back in action tomorrow with two games versus WPI. The first contest is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM.
