WALTHAM, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (28-11, 17-1 GNAC) capped the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball regular season docket with a pair of 3-1 victories at Lasell University on Saturday. The Monks posted a 20-2 record during the month of April and head into May riding a nine-game winning streak.
Saint Joseph's has earned the top seed – and a first-round bye - in the GNAC Tournament, which begins on Tuesday with a pair of first-round, single-elimination contests. The Monks will host the winner of the #5 Elms College / #4 Lasell first-round matchup on Thursday at 3:00 PM.
GAME ONE:
All the game one scoring took place in the first inning, as the Monks pushed across three runs on four hits in the top and the Lasers scored their lone run on two hits in the bottom of the opening frame.
St. Joe's kicked off the game with four-consecutive hits, as freshman Cliff Ward (Cohasset, Mass.) led off with a double to right-center, moved to third on a Ronan Chisholm (North Chatham, Mass.) single, and scored on a Drew Healey (Rochester, N.H.) base hit. Grad student Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) continued the hit parade with an RBI single and, with the bases loaded four batters later, junior shortstop Zach Miles (Concord, N.H.) worked a walk to send the third SJC run home.
In the bottom half, Bryan Baumann led off with a single and later scored on a Matthew Bischof groundout to first base.
Lasell stranded the bases loaded in the second inning and had a pair of runners on in the third, but SJC relievers Hugh Barrett (Durham, Conn.), Sean McDonough (Concord, N.H.) and Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) combined to hold the hosts to just two baserunners in the final four innings.
ON THE MOUND:
- SJC freshman starter Jason Johnson (Thomaston, Conn.) allowed a run on four hits with three strikeouts over three frames and improves to 5-1 with the win
- Barrett, McDonough, and Stephens combined to work four innings of two-hit relief; Stephens earned his sixth save of the season
- Lasell starter Darek Lallo falls to 2-2 on the year after giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks with six strikeouts in four innings; Matthew Fletcher gave up three hits in three scoreless innings of relief
OFF THE BAT:
- Chisholm, Healey, and Gravel notched two hits apiece for the Monks
- For the Lasers, Bauman was 2-for-4 and Vaun Larisa went 2-for-3
GAME TWO:
In the nightcap, most of the scoring also took place in the early innings. The Monks secured a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Healey belted a solo home run, his fifth of the season, and earned a 2-0 cushion in the second when sophomore first baseman Matt Thibault (Nashua, N.H.) walked and later scored on a wild pitch.
The Lasers pushed a run across in the bottom of the second when Ross Audet led off with a triple and promptly scored when the following batter, Matthew Paharik, hit a sac fly to left field.
The 2-1 edge remained until the top of the seventh when Miles started the frame with a single, advanced two bases on a wild pitch, and scored on a Dawson Gundlah (York, Maine) sacrifice fly to center.
ON THE MOUND:
- SJC senior starter Matthew Bergeron (Salem, N.H.) improved to 6-2 on the season after allowing a run on three hits with a strikeout in three innings
- Senior Matt Poff (Pelham, N.H.) picked up his second career save after fanning five batters and allowing one hit in 3.2 dominant innings of relief
- Lasell starter Alex Noel fell to 2-2 after giving up two runs on four hits and three walks with four K's in five innings; Larisa allowed a run on one hit with four strikeouts in two innings of relief duty
OFF THE BAT:
- Miles was 2-for-3 with a run and was the Monks' lone repeat-hitter
- For the Lasers, Audet was 2-for-3 with a triple and a run scored
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the sweep Saint Joseph's improves to 26-6 all-time versus Lasell University and has now defeated the Lasers in seven-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2018 campaign.
