STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (30-13) remained in contention in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Tournament with elimination game victories over #2 Anna Maria College (23-17) and #5 Elms College (16-20) at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Saturday.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the two wins, Saint Joseph's advances to 'Championship Sunday' and will face #3 Johnson & Wales University at 12:00 PM. In order to clinch the GNAC title, the Monks would have to defeat the Wildcats – who are undefeated (2-0) in tourney play this week – twice. If St. Joe's wins the 12:00 PM game a winner-takes-all contest follows at approximately 3:30 PM.
For Anna Maria and Elms, the losses signal the end of the 2022 campaign.
SAINT JOSEPH'S 4, ANNA MARIA 0:
The Monks took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when freshman center fielder Cliff Ward (Cohasset, Mass.) led off with a single and scored, along with grad left fielder Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.), when junior catcher Jonathan Dube (Rochester, N.H.) rapped a single to center with two out.
In the bottom of the eighth St. Joe's took advantage of three Anna Maria errors to tack on a pair of insurance runs and account for the 4-0 final score. For the AMCATS, the shutout loss was the team's first since they suffered a 7-0 setback at the hands of Johnson & Wales in a first-round matchup of the 2019 GNAC Tournament on May 1st, 2019 – a span of 79 games.
ON THE MOUND:
- SJC freshman starting pitcher Jason Johnson (Thomaston, Conn.) was brilliant and lowered his ERA to a team-best 1.04 mark after scattering seven hits with four strikeouts over seven shutout innings; sophomore closer Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) picked up his seventh save of the season after tossing two shutout frames of relief
- For Anna Maria, freshman starter Michael Shorey (Northbridge, Mass.) suffered his first loss of the season after giving up two runs on seven hits with four K's in 6.2 innings; sophomore Anthony Pingeton (Charlton, Mass.) yielded two runs in 1.1 innings of relief
OFF THE BAT:
- Ward was 2-for-4 with a run scored
- Dube went 1-for-4 with three RBI
- Gravel scored a pair of runs and stole a base
- For Anna Maria, junior center fielder Hunter Dunithan (Reno, Nev.) was 2-for-4
SAINT JOSEPH'S 12, ELMS 1:
The Monks put the day's second elimination game away early by scoring eight runs on eight hits and a pair of Elms errors. Gravel belted a two-run homer and Stephens, Ward, Drew Healey (Rochester, N.H.), Zach Miles (Concord, N.H.) and Ronan Chisholm (North Chatham, Mass.) recorded RBI singles in the opening inning scoring barrage.
The Blazers responded with a run on three hits in the bottom of the first when sophomore shortstop AJC Cook (Mendon, Mass.) led off with a double and scored on a single from grad third baseman Austin Roy (Cromwell, Conn.).
St. Joe's responded with single runs in the second and fourth frames as Dube roped an RBI single in the former and Healey walked and scored on a throwing error in the latter to make it a 10-1 game.
Miles tripled home Stephens in the seventh and pinch runner Morgen Doughty (Smithfield, R.I.) scored on a passed ball in the eighth to cap the game scoring.
ON THE MOUND:
- SJC senior starter Matt Poff (Pelham, N.H.) improved to 5-1 on the season after giving up a run on 11 hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over nine innings
- The Blazers utilized eight different pitchers in the setback as junior starter Josh Guilmartin (East Granby, Conn.) took the loss after allowing eight runs (five earned) on eight hits in an inning of work; senior reliever Damon Wesley (Springfield, Mass.) closed out the game with three strikeouts in the top of the ninth
OFF THE BAT:
- Dube went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI
- Gravel was 2-for-4 with two runs, a home run, and two RBI
- Miles went 2-for-4 with a run, a triple and two RBI
- Stephens was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI
- For Anna Maria, Roy, Josh Nohilly (Bristol, Conn.), Aaron Young (Somers, Conn.) and Jake Slahtosky (South Windsor, Conn.) registered two hits apiece
