WALK THIS WAY
STANDISH, Maine – Junior Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) reached on an infield error that allowed sophomore pinch runner Logan Dee (Laconia, N.H.) to score the winning run from second base as Saint Joseph's College (9-11) walked off with an 8-7 victory over Clark University (11-10) in a non-conference baseball contest at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Friday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
In a game that saw gusting winds and dropping temperatures throughout, neither team played particularly well, as the Monks and Cougars combined to make nine fielding errors while their pitching staffs walked 13 batters in the non-league tilt.
Clark kicked off the scoring in the top of the first with two runs on one hit and a pair of SJC errors, when sophomore Tyler Jones (West Haven, Conn.) led off with a walk and raced home on a Carter Doran (Natick, Mass.) single. The Cougars took advantage of two fielding miscues and their team speed, as Doran stole second and third and scored on an SJC error.
The Monks cut their deficit in half in the third, when sophomore Alex Moore (Henniker, N.H.) doubled to right field and later scored on an infield throwing error.
The Cougars grabbed a 5-1 lead when they plated three runs on one hit and a St. Joe's error in the top of the fourth. After the first two batters reached, Jones came to the plate and dropped down a sac bunt, but the throw to first base was wide and both runners scored. Jones later scored on a passed ball to lift his team to a four-run advantage.
Trailing 6-2 and looking for an offensive spark on the dreary afternoon, Stephens provided the Monks with some fireworks in the bottom of the sixth by launching a three-run homer beyond the left-center wall, cutting the Clark lead to 6-5.
Senior Zach Miles (Concord, N.H.) was the catalyst for the Monks as they tied the game in the seventh and took the lead in the eighth. In the former, the senior shortstop doubled and later sprinted home on a wild pitch and, in the latter, Miles knocked in the go-ahead run with a two-out base hit to right field.
The Cougars managed to tie the game with two out in the top of the ninth, when freshman Matthew Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) reached with a single, move to second on a passed ball, and scored on an Anthony LoCasto (New Rochelle, N.Y.) bloop double that landed on the right field foul line.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, senior catcher Jonathan Dube (Rochester, N.H.) roped a single to right and, after moving to second on a passed ball, was lifted in favor of pinch runner Logan Dee. Stephens followed with a hard-hit ground ball to short that was not handled cleanly and Dee came around to score the winning run.
ON THE MOUND:
The Monks featured seven different pitchers in the triumph, as starter Jason Johnson (Thomaston, Conn.) allowed two runs (one earned) off a hit and a walk in one inning, Brendan McCaffrey (Warwick, R.I.) gave up three unearned runs on one hit and two walks with three K's in two innings, Logan Butkins (Scituate, R.I.) tossed two scoreless innings with a strikeout, and Cam Wodarski (Danvers, Mass.) yielded a run off a hit and three walks in 0.1 innings. Matthew Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.), Ethan Smith (Hudson Oaks, Texas), and Stephens – who earned the win in relief - combined to throw 3.2 innings while giving up an unearned run off three hits with four strikeouts.
The Cougars employed four different hurlers in the setback, as senior Nate Bonini (Westfield, Mass.) suffered the loss after allowing a pair of unearned runs off two hits and a walk with a punchout in 1.1 innings. Freshman starter Tommy Flaherty (London, England) threw well for the visitors, having yielded two unearned runs off two hits and two walks with three K's over five frames.
OFF THE BAT:
For the Monks, Miles was 2-4 with a run, a double, and an RBI and Stephens went 1-5 with a three-run homer.
For the Cougars, freshman Dom Mariani (Walpole, Mass.) was 2-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, Donahue went 2-4, and sophomore Carter Doran (Natick, Mass.) added a single, a run, an RBI, and three stolen bases on the afternoon.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 8-5 all-time versus Clark University. The Cougars entered today's action having defeated the Monks in three-consecutive meetings.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Anna Maria College on Saturday in a conference twinbill set to start at 12:00 PM. The games will be played at Marlboro High School.
