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Saint Joseph's College of Maine

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SAINT JOSEPH’S COLLEGE OF MAINE ATHLETICS OFFICIAL SITE

Michael Richards '26
Photo courtesy of Laurel Clace '25
8
Thomas (ME) THOMAS ( 2-8
9
Winner Saint Joseph's (Me.) SAINT JO 14-6
Thomas (ME) THOMAS (
2-8
8
Final
9
Saint Joseph's (Me.) SAINT JO
14-6
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Thomas (ME) THOMAS ( 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 5 8 11 1
Saint Joseph's (Me.) SAINT JO 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 2 9 13 0

W: Leavitt, Nate (2-0) L: Andrew Rapoza (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Monks Tip Terriers in Wild Home-Opener, 9-8

STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (14-6) walked off Thomas College (2-8), 9-8, in a wild non-conference contest — the Monks' 2026 home opener — at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Wednesday afternoon.

The Monks built a 7-3 lead through eight innings, surrendered five runs in the top of the ninth, and answered in the bottom half when freshman Theo Masella (Manchester, Mass.) delivered the game-winning single to cap the roller-coaster victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's grabbed an early 2-0 lead and later appeared to seize control in the eighth, when sophomore Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine) doubled ahead of a Nick Villano (Peabody, Mass.) single and a three-run homer to deep left by senior pinch hitter Michael Richards (Melrose, Mass.), giving the Monks a 7-3 cushion entering the ninth.

Thomas answered with five runs in the top of the final frame, taking an 8-7 lead on junior Hayden Dippner's (Wilton, Maine) go-ahead grand slam, but the Monks had one final response in the bottom half. Senior Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) opened the inning with a game-tying solo homer to center, junior Vinny O'Leary (North Quincy, Mass.) followed with a double, and after a groundout and a pinch-hit walk by senior Jack Moltenbrey (East Longmeadow, Mass.), Villano singled to load the bases. Thomas recorded the second out on a strikeout, but Masella delivered the walk-off knock with a single through the right side, scoring O'Leary to lift Saint Joseph's to a 9-8 victory.

ON THE MOUND:

Saint Joseph's:

  • Tyler Nelson (Fr., Medford, Mass.) - 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
  • Paul Donnelly (So., Middleton, Mass.) - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
  • William Dionne (So., Somerset, Mass.) - 2.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
  • Nate Leavitt (So., Alton, N.H.) (W, 2-0) - 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Thomas:

  • Sam O'Connor (Fr., Southport, Australia) - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
  • Jordan Craft (Jr., Milford, Maine) - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
  • Robert Hall (So., Alexandria, Va.) - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
  • Brody Walsh (Jr., Chesterville, Maine) - 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
  • Roy Clayton (Sr. Iwakuni, Japan) - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
  • Tyler Cantey (Gr., Los Angeles, Calif.) - 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
  • Brayden Viveiros (Fr., Milton, N.H.) - 0.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
  • Gage Eggleston (Jr., Spring, Texas) - 2.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
  • Andrew Rapoza (Jr., Dover, N.H.) - (L, 0-1), 0.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

IN THE BOX:

Saint Joseph's:

Thomas:

  • Hayden Dippner - 1-for-3, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, HR
  • Ajay Rychcik (Fr., Apex, N.C.) - 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR
  • Gavin Clark (So., Laconia, N.H.) - 3-for-4, R
  • Mitch Regan (Jr., Windham, N.H.) - 2-for-4, R, RBI
  • Gus Hollen (Jr., Freeport, Maine) - 1-for-4, R, RBI, BB, 2B

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 53-10 in the all-time series against Thomas College. The Terriers won the previous meeting between the programs, 16-8, in Standish on April 16, 2025.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's returns to action on Sunday, March 29, when the Monks host Elms College in a GNAC doubleheader beginning at 12:00 PM.




 

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