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STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (8-10, 4-0 GNAC) won a pair of games over Dean College (1-17, 0-4 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball doubleheader at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Monday afternoon. The Monks won the opener by a 10-3 score and completed the sweep with an 8-5 win.
SAINT JOSEPH'S 10, DEAN COLLEGE 3:
The Bulldogs struck first with a run off three hits in the top of the first, as senior left fielder Brayden McLaughlin (Forest Grove, Ore.) notched an RBI single with two out. SJC freshman starter Ethan Smith (Hudson Oaks, Texas) escaped a bases-loaded jam by inducing an inning-ending fly out.
The Monks tied the game with a run on three hits in the bottom of the second, when senior catcher Jackson Stanton (Saugus, Mass.) plated Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) with a two-out double to left field.
St. Joe's proceeded to score at least one run in each of the following four innings. In the bottom of the third, senior shortstop Zach Miles (Concord, N.H.) singled and later crossed the plate on a passed ball and freshman Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) walked and scored on a Jonathan Dube (Rochester, N.H.) single to make it a 3-1 game. Wilhelm plated a pair with a double during a three-run fourth and Stanton knocked in two as part of a three-run fifth to put the Monks in the driver's seat with a 9-1 advantage.
Dean put a pair on the board in the top of the sixth, when McLaughlin notched a two-run single. Saint Joseph's capped the scoring in the bottom of the frame when junior Jordan Valentino (Simsbury, Conn.) singled and later sprinted home on a Stephens single.
ON THE MOUND:
Smith yielded one run off six hits and three walks with three K's over 3.2 innings but did not factor into the decision. Freshman Brendan McCaffrey (Warwick, R.I.) scattered two hits and fanned one in 1.1 innings of relief to earn his first NCAA victory. Senior Sean McDonough (Concord, N.H.) allowed two runs on two hits in one inning of work and sophomore Zack Adams (Norton, Mass.), making his collegiate debut, walked one and registered a strikeout in the seventh.
Dean freshman starter Zach Handfield (Auburn, Mass.) took the loss and falls to 1-2 on the season after giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk over three innings of work. First-year Hunter Espinosa (East Haddam, Conn.) allowed six runs (two earned) off five hits in two innings and freshman Cody Carchio (Mendon, Mass.) tossed one inning and gave up one run off two hits with one strikeout.
OFF THE BAT:
- Stephens was 3-4 with two runs and an RBI
- Stanton went 2-3 with a run, two doubles, and three RBI
- Freshman left fielder Terry Morrissey (Andover, Mass.) was 2-3 with a run scored
- For the Bulldogs, senior Brian Dovidio (Ramsey, N.J.) was 3-5 and McLaughlin went 3-4 with three RBI
SAINT JOSEPH'S 8, DEAN COLLEGE 5:
The Monks scored single runs in the first, second, and fourth innings to claim a 3-0 lead. Wilhelm led off the bottom of the first with a single and later scored on a passed ball, sophomore Michael Wearne (Ellington, Conn.) plated junior Matt Thibault (Nashua, N.H.) with a base hit in the second, and Thibault send Stanton across the plate with an RBI double in the fourth.
St. Joe's doubled the lead with three runs off two hits and a Dean error in the bottom of the sixth when Thibault roped a two-run double and scored on an infield miscue to make it a 6-0 game. Dean found the board with a run in the eighth when freshman Jacob Paschetto (East Longmeadow, Mass.) doubled and scored on a senior Andrew Sullivan (Agawam, Mass.) base hit.
Thibault launched a two-run homer to left-center in the bottom of the eighth to extend the Monks' advantage to 8-1, but the Bulldogs showed some late life by scoring four runs on three hits, including a three-run jack that sailed over the scoreboard off the bat of junior pinch hitter Carlos Silva (Tucson, Ariz.).
ON THE MOUND:
SJC sophomore starter Jason Johnson (Thomaston, Conn.) picked up his first win of the season after tossing seven shutout innings while allowing five hits and fanning five batters. Sophomore Matthew Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) struck out one and allowed a run off two hits in one inning of work, freshman Ben Fargo (Charlestown, R.I.) made his second appearance of the season and allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits, and sophomore Hugh Barrett (Durham, Conn.) earned the first save of his career after striking out a pair in a perfect inning of relief.
Dean freshman starter Jacob Salvadore (Barre, Mass.) suffered the loss and falls to 0-3 after allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits and a pair of walks with one strikeout over 5.2 innings and freshman reliever Jared Dussman (Maplewood, N.J.) yielded two runs on three hits in 2.1 frames of work.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday at 3:30 PM.
