HAMDEN, Conn. – Saint Joseph's College split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball doubleheader with Albertus Magnus College (5-6, 1-1 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon, taking the opener, 8-3, before falling, 11-10, in 11 innings in the nightcap.
In game one the Monks rebounded from an early two-run deficit and backed a complete-game effort from sophomore William Dionne (Somerset, Mass.) with four home runs in the five-run victory. In game two, Saint Joseph's erased a three-run deficit, then answered again after Albertus Magnus surged back, but the Falcons walked it off in the 11th inning after the Monks had built a 10-8 lead in the seventh.
GAME ONE – Saint Joseph's 8, Albertus Magnus 3
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's struck first when senior Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) led off the game with a home run to center field, but Albertus Magnus answered immediately in the bottom of the first. Mark Whittington singled, Eric Galarza doubled, and Joey O'Hara launched a three-run homer to left to put the Falcons ahead, 3-1.
The Monks pulled even in the second. Senior Jack Moltenbrey (East Longmeadow, Mass.) singled, senior Luke Doughty (York, Maine) followed with a single to center, and after senior Ryan Kastle (Concord, N.H.) walked, Wilhelm brought home a pair with a fielder's choice that tied the game at 3-3.
Junior Vinny O'Leary (North Quincy, Mass.) put Saint Joseph's back in front in the third with a solo shot to center, and Dionne settled in from there, keeping the Falcons off the board over the final six innings.
The Monks finally created separation in the seventh. Kastle reached on an error and Wilhelm followed with an RBI double to make it 5-3. Two batters later, sophomore Jake Carlisle (Portsmouth, N.H.) blasted a two-run homer to center, and sophomore Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine) followed immediately with a solo shot to left-center to cap the four-run frame and account for the final margin.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
Albertus Magnus:
- Justin Feinstein – 6.2 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 WP (L, 2-1)
- Joshua Santiago – 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Jared Wilhelm – 2-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Vinny O'Leary – 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI, R
- Jake Carlisle – 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Nic Frink – 1-4, HR, RBI, R
- Dylan Brander (Merrimack, N.H.) – 1-4, 2B
- Jack Moltenbrey – 1-3, R
- Luke Doughty – 1-3, R
Albertus Magnus:
- Mark Whittington – 2-3, R
- Eric Galarza – 1-3, 2B, R
- Joey O'Hara – 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, R
- Baltazar Mesa – 1-3
- Robert Anton – 1-3
GAME TWO – Albertus Magnus 11, Saint Joseph's 10 (11 inn.)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Albertus Magnus grabbed the early lead with solo homers from Hunter Sincovic and Mark Whittington in the third, then added another run in the fourth on Noah Grosso's RBI single for a 3-0 edge.
The Monks answered in the fifth. Frink singled, Doughty singled, and sophomore Nick Brindle (Pittsfield, Mass.) crushed a three-run homer to left to tie the game. After Kastle reached on an error, Wilhelm lifted a sacrifice fly to put Saint Joseph's in front, 4-3.
The Falcons responded with three runs in the bottom half to reclaim the lead, but Saint Joseph's countered again in the sixth. Brander singled, Doughty walked, and Brindle laced a two-run triple to left to knot the score at 6-6.
Albertus Magnus scored twice in the sixth and once in the seventh to make it 9-6, but the Monks stormed back with four runs in the top of the seventh. Carlisle homered to center, Brander tripled home Frink, Doughty added a sacrifice fly, and Hersey doubled to center to score Brindle for a 10-8 advantage.
The Falcons pulled within one in the seventh, then tied the game in the ninth when Joey O'Hara was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Saint Joseph's threatened in the 10th with Kastle at third and O'Leary at second, but Albertus Magnus escaped the jam. In the bottom of the 11th, Adriel Espada was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored the winning run on Eric Galarza's single to right.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- Paul Donnelly (Middleton, Mass.) – 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
- Nate Leavitt (Alton, N.H.) – 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 WP
- Thomas O'Koniewski – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- Henry Paquette (Pelham, N.H.) – 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
- Ryan Thurber (South Portland, Maine) – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
- Kyle Notenboom (Methuen, Mass.) – 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 WP (L, 0-1)
Albertus Magnus:
- Peyton Thomas – 5.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 WP
- Sam Granata – 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
- Joshua Santiago – 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 WP (W, 1-0)
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Nick Brindle – 3-5, HR, 3B, 5 RBI, 2 R
- Dylan Brander – 2-6, 3B, RBI, 2 R
- Jake Carlisle – 1-5, HR, RBI, R, BB
- Luke Doughty – 1-4, RBI, 2 R, BB
- Josh Hersey (Salisbury, Mass.) – 1-4, RBI, 2B, R, BB
- Jared Wilhelm – 1-5, RBI
- Vinny O'Leary – 1-5, 2 SB, BB
Albertus Magnus:
- Eric Galarza – 3-6, 2 RBI, R, BB
- Robert Anton – 3-5, RBI, 3 R, BB
- Baltazar Mesa – 3-5, 2 RBI, R, 2B
- Noah Grosso – 2-6, RBI, R
- Hunter Sincovic – 3-5, HR, RBI, R
- Mark Whittington – 1-4, HR, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
- Brayden Hastings – 3-6
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
The split moved Saint Joseph's to 31-4 all-time against the Falcons.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Mitchell College on Sunday in a GNAC doubleheader set to start at 11:00 AM.
