AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (5-3) split a doubleheader with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (3-5) in RussMatt Central Florida Invitational baseball action at the Lake Myrtle Complex on Friday. The Engineers blanked the Monks, 8-0, in the opener but St. Joe's prevailed, 10-5, to salvage the split.
GAME ONE:
The first game was a pitchers' duel for the first five innings, as WPI junior starter Everett Wonson (York, Maine) and SJC's Samuel Jalbert (Mascouche, Que.) locked heads for three scoreless frames before the Engineers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth off a pair of doubles. WPI secured a 2-0 lead when senior Andrew Brooks (Millis, Mass.) hit a solo home run with two out.
Unfortunately for the Monks, Jalbert ran out of gas in the bottom of the sixth when the first two WPI batters reached and he was removed in favor of freshman Matthew Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.), who plunked the only batter he faced to load the bases with nobody out. The Engineers pushed runs across via sac fly, a bases-loaded walk, and a wild pitch before junior second baseman Jeffrey Brennan (Amsterdam, N.Y.) strode to the plate and belted a three-run double to account for the 8-0 final.
ON THE MOUND:
- Jalbert suffered the loss after giving up four runs on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts
- Freshman Michael Wearne (Ellington, Conn.) yielded three runs on one hit and two walks with a pair of K's in one inning of work
- For WPI, Wonson picked up the win after tossing six shutout innings while allowing four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts
OFF THE BAT:
- Junior shortstop Zach Miles (Concord, N.H.) went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles
- For WPI, Brennan was 2-for-4 with a run, a double, and three RBI
GAME TWO:
The Monks plated their first runs of the day in the bottom of the first when they scored four runs off four hits and a WPI miscue. Grad student Drew Healey (Rochester, N.H.) kicked off the hit parade when he doubled home freshman center fielder Peter O'Brien (Scarborough, Maine). Sophomore pitcher Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) and junior catcher Jackson Stanton (Saugus, Mass.) notched RBI singles and Miles sent Stephens home with a fielder's choice.
The Engineers tightened the collar with two runs on two hits in the top of the second and made it a 4-3 game in the fourth when senior Martin McCormack (Quincy, Mass.) delivered an RBI double.
St. Joe's responded in the bottom of the fourth when O'Brien doubled and later scored on a Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) single to left field, but the seesaw battle ensued as WPI tied the game with a pair of runs on two hits in the fifth frame.
The Monks answered in a big way by scoring five runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore first baseman Matthew Thibeault (Nashua, N.H.) greeted WPI reliever by hitting his first career home run, a blast to dead center, and first-year outfielder knocked in O'Brien – who reached via single - with a base hit to right. Gravel provided the fireworks in the game-changing frame, as the slugger roped his first home run of the season, a three-run jack, over the right field wall to account for the 10-5 final.
ON THE MOUND:
- Stephens pitched well but did not factor into the decision after allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits over 3.1 innings
- Senior Matt Poff (Pelham, N.H.) picked up his first win of the season after scattering two hits with two punch-outs in two scoreless innings of relief
- Gravel finished the game with a scoreless inning of work
- For WPI, sophomore starter Owen Radcliffe (Holliston, Mass.) took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits and a pair of walks with two K's in four innings
OFF THE BAT:
- Gravel led the offensive attack by going 3-for-4 with two runs, a home run, and four RBI
- O'Brien notched his second three-hit performance of the young season and reached base five times with two walks; overall he was 3-for-3 with three runs and a double
- Thibault was 2-for-4 with a solo homer
- For WPI, Jacob Hand (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and Andrew Cash (Marlboro, Mass.) notched two hits apiece
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's is scheduled to close out their southern swing with a nine-inning game versus Immaculata College tomorrow morning. First pitch is slated for 9:15 AM.
