GORHAM, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (6-10) split a non-conference softball doubleheader at the University of Southern Maine (8-3) on Thursday afternoon, taking the opener, 5-3, before falling, 8-7, in the nightcap.
The Monks used one big inning and held off a late rally in game one, but Southern Maine answered a five-run Saint Joseph's sixth with four runs in the bottom half of game two to earn the split.
GAME ONE – Saint Joseph's 5, Southern Maine 3
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After three scoreless innings, Saint Joseph's broke through with a five-run fourth. Senior Sadie Tirrell (Naples, Maine) started the rally and later scored on an RBI single by freshman Jayden Sullivan (Hancock, Maine) before sophomore Makayla Quintal (Gorham, Maine) blew the game open with a grand slam to center.
Southern Maine answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth and made things interesting in the seventh, scoring twice to trim the margin to 5-3 and bringing the tying run to the plate. After the Huskies loaded the corners with one out, freshman Olivia Thomas (Belgrade, Maine) entered and recorded the final two outs to earn the save.
IN THE CIRCLE:
Saint Joseph's:
- Senior Miranda Northrup (Whitefield, Maine) (W, 4-3) – 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Freshman Lulu Dias (Danvers, Mass.) – 0.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER
- Thomas (S, 1) – 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R
Southern Maine:
- Mia Coots (L, 4-2) – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
- Mackenzie Kingsbury – 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Quintal – 1-for-3, R, 4 RBI, HR
- Tirrell – 1-for-3, R, BB, SB
- Sullivan – 1-for-3, R, RBI
- Bella Napolitano-Aberle (Portland, Maine) – 1-for-2, R, BB
- Abbie Green-Sermak (Rehoboth, Mass.) – R, BB
- Kiera Gabric (Hampden, Maine) – 1-for-4
- Thomas – 1-for-4
Southern Maine:
- Emily Wheeler – 2-for-4, R, RBI, 2B
- Olivia Levasseur – 2-for-4, R, RBI, 2B
- Brianna Grenier – 2-for-4, RBI
- Aislin Davis – 2-for-2
- Kristina Yebba – 1-for-3, R, BB
GAME TWO – Southern Maine 8, Saint Joseph's 7
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Southern Maine took a 1-0 lead in the second before Saint Joseph's answered with single runs in the third and fourth to move in front, 2-1. The Huskies responded with a three-run fourth to reclaim the advantage, but the Monks surged back in the sixth.
Senior Sadie Tirrell homered to start the inning and Saint Joseph's later got a two-run single from Quintal and a two-run hit from Gabric to cap a five-run frame and grab a 7-4 lead.
The lead did not last. Southern Maine answered immediately with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by an RBI double from Brianna Grenier, a two-run double by Mackenzie Renner, and a sacrifice fly from Ella Bezanson, and the Huskies then set the Monks down in order in the seventh to secure the split.
IN THE CIRCLE:
Saint Joseph's:
- Sophomore Sierra Laukka (Hope, Maine) – 5.1 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
- Thomas (L, 1-2) – 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER
Southern Maine:
- Camdyn Johnson – 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- Kingsbury – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 1 BB
- Coots (W, 5-2) – 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Tirrell – 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, HR
- Quintal – 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2B
- Brianna Eastman (West Baldwin, Maine) – 2-for-4, 2B
- Gabric – 1-for-3, 3 RBI, SF
- Kryslin Stearns (Concord, N.H.) – 1-for-3, R, BB
- Addison French (Rochester, N.H.) – 1-for-2, R, BB
Southern Maine:
- Levasseur – 3-for-4, R
- Renner – 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B
- Bezanson – 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI
- Delisle – 1-for-3, 2 RBI
- Yebba – 2-for-2, R, RBI, BB
- Grenier – 1-for-4, RBI, 2B
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the split, Saint Joseph's is now 35-30 all-time versus Southern Maine.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's returns to action on Saturday, March 28th, when the Monks visit Simmons University for a GNAC doubleheader beginning at 12:00 PM.
