STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (24-11, 15-1 GNAC) clinched the top seed in the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball tournament with two wins over Rivier University (3-26, 2-14 GNAC) at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Sunday afternoon. The Monks won the first game by a 7-2 score and clipped the Raiders, 3-2, in the closing contest.
With the wins, Saint Joseph's collects the top seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament, which begins on Tuesday, May 3rd with a play-in round for seeds number 3 - 6. The Monks will host a quarterfinal contest, opponent TBD, on Thursday, May 5th as well as the remainder of the tourney on Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8. St. Joe's has now earned the top seed in the GNAC playoffs seven times in 15 years as a conference member and will be hosting the tournament for the first time since 2018.
The complete tournament bracket will be announced next weekend after all conference regular-season games are in the books.
GAME ONE:
The Raiders struck first as sophomore Frank Gulezian (Derry, N.H.) led off with a double and scored three batters later when senior Conor Dines (Framingham, Mass.) doubled to left.
The Monks immediately responded with a run in the bottom of the first, when senior third baseman Ronan Chisholm (North Chatham, Mass.) walked and scored on a Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) base hit. St. Joe's proceeded to secure a 5-1 lead with four runs on two hits, including a three-run jack off the bat of Dawson Gundlah (York, Maine), in the bottom of the third.
Gravel notched a two-run double in the bottom of the fourth and Rivier tacked on an unearned run in the seventh to account for the 7-2 final.
ON THE MOUND:
- SJC senior starter Matthew Bergeron (Salem, N.H.) improved to 5-2 after allowing a run on three hits with six strikeouts in six innings; senior Johnny Flynn (Holden, Mass.) tossed an inning of relief and allowed an unearned run on a hit and two walks with a pair of K's
- Rivier sophomore Timothy Scott (Lowell, Mass.) falls to 1-7 after yielding seven runs on seven hits and six walks with three punch-outs in 4.2 innings; freshman Tyler Fenton (Wilmington, Mass.) worked 1.1 innings of scoreless relief
OFF THE BAT:
- Gravel was 3-for-3 with a run, a double, a stolen base, and four RBI
- Gundlah hit his second home run of the year and delivered three RBI
GAME TWO:
The second game of the day started in a similar fashion as the first as the Monks took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Healey reached on an error and promptly scored when junior Jonathan Dube (Rochester, N.H.) lined a double to right field. Both teams scored a single run in the second inning, as Fenton singled home Z White in the top and sophomore catcher Jackson Stanton (Saugus, Mass.) doubled and scored on a Zach Miles (Concord, N.H.) base knock to make it a 2-1 game.
Rivier answered with a run in the in the top of the third when Chipman walked and scored on a Patrick Young (Billerica, Mass.) single, tying the game 2-2.
The 2-2 stalemate remained until the bottom of the seventh when the Monks pushed across the winning run with two out. Freshman center fielder CIiff Ward (Cohasset, Mass.) singled with one out before moving to second on a Wearne sac bunt. With two down, Healey came to the plate and hit a swinging bunt between the catcher and pitcher and Rivier senior hurler Jake Mainey (Merrimack, N.H.) picked up the ball and threw it over the head of Dines at first base, a miscue that allowed Ward to race home for the winning run.
ON THE MOUND:
- SJC senior starter Matt Poff (Pelham, N.H.) gave up two runs on six hits with a pair of K's over five innings and sophomore Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) picked up the win after allowing a hit with two K's in two innings of relief
OFF THE BAT:
- Wearne was 2-for-4
- Dube doubled and had an RBI
- Miles went 1-for-3 with an RBI
- For Rivier, Young went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the sweep Saint Joseph's improves to 32-1 all-time versus Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in 27-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2008 campaign.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host UMaine-Farmington in a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday. First pitch for the opener is set for 3:00 PM.
Senior Day 2022
