PHOTO CREDIT: Jennifer Bent
STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College and Emmanuel College split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) North Division softball doubleheader at Richard W. Bailey Field on Saturday afternoon. The Saints won the first game, 2-0, and the Monks rallied to win the nightcap, 5-4.
SENIOR MOMENT:
Prior to the start of the twinbill the Monks held a brief ceremony to honor the program's three seniors: Alexis Downs (Auburn, Maine), Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine), and Taylor Owen (Wakefield, Mass.). All three players were four-year members of the SJC softball program and will be missed next spring.
EMMANUEL 2, SAINT JOSEPH'S 0:
The opener was a pitchers' duel that required barely 90 minutes to complete with the Saints plating a run in the first and fifth frames to secure the victory. Free passes came back to bite the Monks in both innings, as Amanda Penney (Warwick, R.I.) worked a leadoff walk and scored on an Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.) double in the first and Taylor Chelak (Westborough, Mass.) walked with one out in the fifth and later sprinted home on an Abigail Farr (Windsor Lock, Conn.) sac fly.
St. Joe's did not advance a runner to third base with only two reaching second base in the setback.
IN THE CIRCLE:
Goodnough suffered the loss and falls to 7-5 on the season after allowing two runs on four hits and six walks with five strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
Junior Madison Marks (Edgewater Park, N.J.) earned the win for the Saints after hurling seven three-hit, shutout innings with seven punch-outs.
AT THE BAT:
- Downs, Sylvia Foley (Scarborough, Maine), and Charlotte Cloutier (Lewiston, Maine) notched singles in the loss
- Conti was 2-4 with a double and an RBI and was the only repeat-hitter for either team
SAINT JOSEPH'S 5, EMMANUEL 4:
The Monks scored their first run of the day in the bottom of the first when Foley singled home Mollie Verreault (Scarborough, Maine). The 1-0 edge held until the top of the fifth when the Saints claimed a 3-1 lead off an Alexis Martineau (Merrimack, N.H.) base hit and a passed ball that allowed two runs to cross the plate.
The conference rivals swapped scores in their next turns at the bat as Emmanuel carried a 4-2 advantage into the bottom of the seventh, when Saint Joseph's plated three runs off two hits and three errors.
The Monks tied the game when Cloutier and Chantelle Bouchard (Biddeford, Maine) both reached on an error and eventually scored on additional miscues. With two out, Foley crossed the plate with the winning run when Goodnough roped a single up the middle.
IN THE CIRCLE:
SJC junior Madison Pelletier (New Gloucester, Maine) improved to 8-8 on the season after allowing four runs (two earned) on 11 hits in a complete-game win.
Emmanuel sophomore starter Mackenzie Briggs (West Warwick, R.I.) gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks over 4.2 innings while Marks suffered the setback in relief after yielding three unearned runs on two hits over two frames.
AT THE BAT:
- Foley was 2-4 with a run, a triple, a stolen base, and two RBI
- Bouchard went 1-4 with two runs scored
- For Emmanuel, Penney, Chelak, and Martineau posted two hits apiece
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's closes out the regular season tomorrow with a GNAC twinbill at Rivier University. First pitch is slated for 1:00 PM.
