STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (27-7, 20-2 GNAC) saw its
winning streak end at 23 games on Monday night, as Emerson College
(24-8, 19-3 GNAC) swept the Monks in a GNAC Softball doubleheader,
winning the opener 9-1 and the nightcap 5-1, at Ward Park.
One of the few highlights in the two-game set came in the bottom
of the fourth of the second contest when Liddy van der Linden
'10 (Worcester, MA) led off the frame with a home run, her ninth of
the 2010 campaign. The blast broke the program single-season record
for long balls, which was set last season by teammate Emily Leverone '12
(Hampton, NH) and previously held by Kelly Premo '02, with six
jacks, for seven seasons.
Prior to the twinbill, the Monks' four seniors – van der
Linden, Jillian
Kimball (Albany Township, ME), Christy Wezowicz
(Granville, MA) and Anna Willis (Gorham, ME)
– were honored with a ceremony in recognition of their
contributions to the program. Through four seasons to date, the
quartet has helped the Royal Blue post a 98-55 record with a
corresponding .641 winning percentage.
Along with the Senior Day festivities, the Monks sported pink
pre-game warm-ups and wore pink ribbons and socks in order to raise
breast cancer awareness. The program sold t-shirts and collected
donations for the worthy cause during the games as well.
In the losses, St. Joe's mustered just seven hits with six
miscues defensively and suffered its first mercy-rule loss of the
year in the opener. The van der Linden homer was the Monks' only
extra-base hit of the evening.
Emerson ace Kelsey Tuthill '12 (Middlefield, CT) tossed 6.2
innings, allowing just two hits with 11 strikeouts in the closing
contest. Southpaw Sara Murray '12 (Auburn, NH) worked all five
innings and scattered four hits with three K's in the opener for
the Lions.
Wezowicz (9-3) started the first game for the Monks and allowed
nine runs – seven earned – and eight hits in 3.1
innings, while Kayla
Vannah '13 (Waldoboro, ME) hurled 1.2 innings in relief with
two hits allowed and one strikeout.
Game-two starter Madylan Kluna '12 (Standish,
ME) worked four innings, surrendering five hits and two earned runs
with a walk and a strikeout, before being lifted in favor of Kiera Walsh '11
(Benton, ME), who tossed the final three innings with three runs
– one earned – and four hits allowed. Kluna falls to
7-2 on the year with the losing decision.
GAME ONE
The Lions wasted little time in the opener, as the visitors
scored five runs off four hits in the top of the second to put the
Monks on their heels. Nikki Battaglia '10 (Freehold, NJ) led off
with a double and trotted home when the next batter, Kendal Peiguss
'12 (Suquamish, WA), belted a Wezowicz offering over the fence.
Brittany Martin '11 (Las Vegas, NV) followed with a double to
center and the next two batters walked to load the bases for
Bridget Farago '10 (Oneonta, NY), who plated a pair with a single
to left. Jaclyn Castellano '13 (Staten Island, NY) scampered home
on a wild pitch to provide the Lions with a 5-0 lead.
Battaglia scored on a passed ball in the third and Emerson added
three more runs in the fourth to capture a 9-0 cushion. Farago
scored on an error and Martin registered a two-run single in the
fourth frame.
St. Joe's scored in the bottom of the fourth, as Danyelle Shufelt '13
(Sutton, VT) led off with a sharply hit single to right and
eventually scored on a sacrifice fly sent to left by Alyssa Dunn '11 (Standish,
ME).
Samantha Gray '12
(Yarmouth, ME) was the Monks' lone repeat hitter in the opener, as
the sophomore went 2-2 with two singles in the losing effort.
Martin was 3-3 with a run, a double and two RBI and Farago went
2-3 with a run and two RBI for the Lions.
For the Monks, the loss is the first since March
13th, which was the team's final day in Fort Myers,
Florida. The 23-game winning streak stands as a program record,
besting the previous high (18 games, 1990) by five wins, and ties
the SJC Athletics mark for longest victory streak with the 1998-99
Men's Basketball team's feat of the same length.
GAME TWO
The Lions took an early lead again in the nightcap with one run
off two hits in the first frame. Farago led off the game with a
single to deep short and later scored when Christina Naramore '11
(Ammissville, VA) grounded out to SJC shortstop Liddy van der
Linden. The visitors added another run in the third, as Jordan
Newell '12 (Palm City, FL) scored on a Pieguss single to center.
Saint Joseph's cut its deficit in half with van der Linden's
historic home run in the fourth, but the Monks registered just one
hit, a single by Shufelt in the sixth, in the final three innings.
In the meantime, Emerson tacked on a run in the fifth and two in
the sixth en route to completing the sweep.
Newell was 2-2 with two runs and Farago went 2-4 with a run and
an RBI in the nightcap for the Lions.
St. Joe's will look to rebound with a conference twinbill
tomorrow at Rivier College. The first game of the doubleheader,
which was originally scheduled for April 16th but
postponed due to rain, will begin at 6:00 PM. Emerson will host
GNAC rival Simmons College tomorrow in a two-game set slated to
begin at 3:30 PM.
