STANDISH, Maine – The Saint Joseph's College softball team earned a split in Monday's non-conference doubleheader against Salem State, taking the opener 4-2 before falling 13-9 in the second game.With the split, the Monks move to 7-3 overall (2-2 GNAC), while the Vikings now sit at 11-9 (3-1 MASCAC).
Game One: Saint Joseph's 4, Salem State 2
The Monks set the tone early and held off the Vikings with a strong combination of timely hitting and solid pitching. Madison Pelletier (New Gloucester, ME) earned the win in the circle, tossing five innings and allowing just two runs on four hits. Paige Connery (Tyngsboro, MA) came in as relief to shut the door, earning the save with two scoreless frames.
Saint Joseph's opened the scoring in the first when Sadie Tirrell (Naples, ME) doubled home Chantelle Bouchard (Biddeford, ME). After Salem State grabbed a brief 2-1 lead in the second, the Monks answered quickly—Makayla Quintal (Gorham, ME) tied the game with an RBI single, and Pelletier followed with a run-scoring hit to give SJC a 3-2 advantage.
Quintal added an insurance run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly, and the Monks' defense did the rest—turning two key double plays to preserve the win.
Quintal finished with a hit, two RBIs, and a pair of stolen bases, while Pelletier chipped in with two hits and an RBI of her own.
Game Two: Salem State 13, Saint Joseph's 9
The second game turned into a slugfest, as both teams combined for 22 runs and 17 hits. The Monks came out firing, plating seven runs over the first two innings, fueled by Sylvia Foley's (Scarborough, ME) big day at the plate—she tallied four RBIs with a pair of doubles.
Salem State chipped away, scoring five in the third and tying the game at 7-7 with two more in the sixth. The Vikings then broke it open with six runs in the top of the seventh, taking advantage of Monks' miscues to pull ahead for good.
Abby Carpenter (Bath, ME) drove in three runs for SJC, while Quintal added a hit and a run scored. The Monks were hampered by four errors in the field, which proved costly in the back-and-forth battle.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's looks to bounce back when they travel to Husson for a doubleheader on Thursday.