AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Saint Joseph's College (5-7) baseball team split a doubleheader with Thomas More College (2-2) in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Wednesday afternoon. The Monks opened with a 6-3 victory and fell in the nightcap, 8-1. The matchup featured a pair of 2014 NCAA DIII Tournament qualifiers.
Saint Joseph's 6, Thomas More 3
Sophomore shortstop Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) kicked off the scoring in the first game by launching his first career home run, a big fly over the left field wall, to lead off the bottom of the first inning.
Thomas More claimed their first lead of the day with a pair of runs off two hits in the top of the fourth, but the Monks responded with five runs off two hits and three Saints errors to stake a 6-1 advantage through four. Sophomore center fielder Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) belted an RBI double and second-year right fielderScott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) punched home a pair with a two-bagger of his own during the five-run frame.
The Saints threatened in the top of the fifth and scored once off two hits, but junior reliever Corey McNamara(West Newbury, Mass.) came on and minimized the damage en route to earning his first save of the season.
For the Monks, Betts went 2-3 with a double and two RBI and Meehan was 2-3 with a run, a double, and an RBI. Freshman Steven Albert (Worcester, Mass.) picked up his first collegiate victory after tossing 3.1 innings of relief, allowing three runs off four hits and a pair of walks with four K's, while McNamara tossed 2.2 perfect innings to close out the contest. Sophomore southpaw Matt Wojciak (Merrimack, N.H.) started the game on the hill for the Monks and fanned a pair with two free passes in one inning of work.
Thomas More starter Austin Koch took the loss after yielding six runs (one earned) off six hits and a walk in 3.2 innings.
Thomas More 8, Saint Joseph's 1
The long ball may have helped spark the Monks to the game-one victory, but the Royal Blue fell victim to the four-base hit in the nightcap, as the Saints jacked a pair of taters in the bottom of the first to secure an early 3-0 cushion.
Thomas More tacked on another run in the second to make it a 4-0 game, but Saint Joseph's answered with what turned out to be their only offense of the contest, as senior third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) walked and later scored on a Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) single up the middle.
The Saints added a run in the bottom of the third and put the game completely out of reach with a three-run fourth, accounting for the 8-1 final.
Junior left fielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) was 3-4 and Coyne went 2-4 with an RBI in setback. The Monks stranded nine baserunners in the losing effort.
Sophomore Nick Malatesta (Wrentham, Mass.) took the loss after giving up five runs (four earned) off eight hits in two innings and sophomore Thomas Fortier (Falmouth, Maine) allowed three runs (one earned) off four hits in two frames of relief. Freshman Philip LeVangie (Hanover, Mass.) struck out five and walked one in two innings of impressive relief duty.
Saint Joseph's closes out the Florida trip with a pair of games versus Westfield State University. First pitch for the opener is slated for 9:30 AM.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.