WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (10-2) split a RussMatt Central Florida Invitational doubleheader with Mount St. Joseph University (4-6) on Friday at the Chain O' Lakes Complex, falling 13-5 in the opener before bouncing back with a 6-0 victory in the nightcap.
The Lions used a steady offensive attack and a five-run sixth inning to pull away in game one, totaling 16 hits in the win. Saint Joseph's responded emphatically in the second contest behind a dominant complete-game, two-hit shutout from senior Padraig Mac Seain (Brookline, N.H.) and home runs by sophomores Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine) and Jake Carlisle (Portsmouth, N.H.) as the Monks earned the split.
NOTEWORTHY:
Mac Seain turned in one of the best outings of his collegiate career in the nightcap, as the senior southpaw fired a seven-inning complete-game shutout and tied his career-high with 11 strikeouts. It also stands as one of the top pitching performances by a Monk in recent years, as the last Saint Joseph's pitcher to post a comparable line was Zach Begin, who spun a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in a 2-0 win over King's College on March 4, 2018.
GAME ONE – Mount St. Joseph 13, Saint Joseph's 5
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Mount St. Joseph struck first with a three-run second inning. Zac Clow opened the scoring with an RBI single and Jackson Gutzwiller followed with a two-run hit to give the Lions an early 3-0 advantage.
The Lions added a run in the third when Ethan Mason scored on a Will Record groundout, but Saint Joseph's answered in the bottom half of the inning. Sophomore Theo Masella (Manchester, Mass.) worked a leadoff walk and senior Ryan Kastle (Concord, N.H.) singled before senior Jack Moltenbrey (East Longmeadow, Mass.) drew a walk to load the bases. Junior Vinny O'Leary (North Quincy, Mass.) singled home Masella and Frink added a sacrifice fly to plate Moltenbrey, trimming the deficit to 4-2.
Mount St. Joseph pushed the lead back to three in the fifth on an RBI single by Record after Mason tripled to right center.
The game turned in the sixth. Gutzwiller led off the inning with a solo home run and the Lions kept rolling from there, with Austin Buckle driving in one run and Mason ripping a two-run triple before scoring on a wild pitch as Mount St. Joseph built a 10-2 cushion.
Saint Joseph's answered in the bottom of the sixth when Frink singled and sophomore Nick Villano (Peabody, Mass.) launched a two-run homer to left-center, but the Lions countered with three more runs in the seventh to put the game away. AJ Meyer drove in one with a sacrifice fly, Jordan Harley added an RBI single, and Mason scored on a throwing error.
The Monks plated the final run in the seventh when O'Leary doubled, Kastle moved into scoring position, and junior Matt Elwell (Wakefield, Mass.) brought home a run with a sacrifice fly.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- Dylan Brander (Senior, Merrimack, N.H.) – 5.1 IP, 12 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (L, 2-1)
- Kyle Notenboom (Freshman, Methuen, Mass.) – 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- Joey Tavares (Freshman, Methuen, Mass.) – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Mount St. Joseph:
- Nolan Miller – 7.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (W, 1-0)
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
Mount St. Joseph:
- Ethan Mason – 3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 3B
- Jordan Harley – 2-5, 2 R, RBI
- Will Record – 2-3, 2 RBI, R
- Zac Clow – 2-4, RBI, R
- Jackson Gutzwiller – 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
- AJ Meyer – 2-3, RBI, R
GAME TWO – Saint Joseph's 6, Mount St. Joseph 0
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's broke through in the fourth inning. Carlisle singled with one out and Frink followed by blasting a two-run homer to left field to give the Monks a 2-0 lead.
The Monks added three more runs in the fifth. Senior Luke Doughty (York, Maine) was hit by a pitch and senior Josh Hersey (Salisbury, Mass.) drew a walk before Kastle moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. After two were away, Carlisle crushed a three-run homer to left, stretching the advantage to 5-0.
Saint Joseph's added an insurance run in the seventh when O'Leary reached on a throwing error, Carlisle doubled to right, and Frink drove in the run with a groundout.
That was more than enough support for Mac Seain, who worked out of a first-inning jam after Austin Buckle tripled to open the game and never let the Lions break through. Mount St. Joseph managed just one hit the rest of the way as the Monks closed out the shutout.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- Padraig Mac Seain (Senior, Brookline, N.H.) – 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K (W, 3-0)
Mount St. Joseph:
- Jackson Bucks – 4.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (L, 0-1)
- Carson Taulbee – 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Jake Carlisle – 3-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Nic Frink – 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, R
- Jack Moltenbrey – 1-2, RBI, 2 BB
- Vinny O'Leary – 1-3, 2 RBI, BB
- Dylan Brander – 1-3, R
- Luke Doughty – 1-3, R
Mount St. Joseph:
- Austin Buckle – 1-3, 3B
- Andrew Clements – 1-1, BB
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Game two completed the first-ever series between Saint Joseph's and Mount St. Joseph.
NEXT!
The Monks close out their 12-game southern swing tomorrow with a pair of contests versus University of Minnesota-Morris. The opener is set to start at 9:15 AM.
