WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College extended its season-opening winning streak to six games on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Vassar College at Chain of Lakes Park, rallying for a 9-5 win in the opener before earning a 17-0, six-inning victory in the nightcap.
GAME ONE – SAINT JOSEPH'S 9, VASSAR 5
Saint Joseph's was outhit, 8-7, but capitalized on six Vassar errors and used a six-run fifth inning to erase an early three-run deficit.
The Monks grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when senior Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) and sophomore Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine) both scored on a two-run double by sophomore Nick Villano (Peabody, Mass.). Vassar answered with one run in the bottom of the first and then surged in front with a four-run third inning to take a 5-2 advantage.
Saint Joseph's answered with the decisive rally in the fifth, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring six times to reclaim the lead for good. Wilhelm again helped spark the inning before junior Vinny O'Leary (North Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore Jake Carlisle (Portsmouth, N.H.) added singles. Frink drove in a run, Villano plated two more, and senior Ryan Kastle (Concord, N.H.) ripped an RBI triple as the Monks turned a 5-2 hole into an 8-5 lead. Saint Joseph's added an insurance run in the sixth when Carlisle scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Nick Brindle (Pittsfield, Mass.).
After Vassar scored five runs over the first three innings, the SJC pitching staff shut the Brewers down the rest of the way.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- Sophomore William Dionne (Somerset, Mass.) (W, 1-0): 6.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 11 K
- Senior Thomas O'Koniewski (Lawrence, Mass.): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Vassar:
- Jack Sadowski: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
- Will Darrell: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
- Cade Terada-Herzer (L, 0-1): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
- Matt Calamari: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Nick Villano: 2-for-4, R, 2B, 3 RBI
- Jake Carlisle: 2-for-3, 2 R, BB
- Jared Wilhelm: 2 R, 2 BB, HBP, SB
- Ryan Kastle: 1-for-4, 3B, RBI
- Luke Doughty (York, Maine): 1-for-4, R
- Vinny O'Leary: 1-for-3, R
Vassar:
- Noah Townsend: 3-for-3, 2 RBI
- Jack Johnson: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, BB
- Aidan Annello: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI
GAME TWO – SAINT JOSEPH'S 17, VASSAR 0 (6 inn.)
Saint Joseph's completed the sweep in emphatic fashion, totaling nine hits and 14 walks while taking advantage of three more Vassar errors in a game that was delayed and called after six innings.
The Monks struck first in the opening inning. Wilhelm drew a leadoff walk, and after O'Leary bunted Jake Carlisle ahead, Frink brought in the game's first run with an RBI groundout. Villano followed with an RBI double to right-center as Saint Joseph's grabbed a 2-0 lead.
The Monks added to the margin in the fourth. Senior Connor Finn (Kingston, Mass.) and freshman Theo Masella (Manchester, Mass.) delivered back-to-back singles, and after Masella moved to third and freshman Josh Hersey (Salisbury, Mass.) reached on a walk, Kastle ripped a three-run triple to center field to make it 5-0.
Saint Joseph's then blew the game wide open with a 12-run sixth inning. Freshman Jack Moltenbrey (East Longmeadow, Mass.) opened the frame with a walk and later scored on a throwing error, Kastle added an RBI single, and the Monks took full advantage of Vassar miscues, passed balls, hit batters, and free passes throughout the rally. Frink delivered a two-run single in the inning, junior Matt Elwell (Wakefield, Mass.) added an RBI single, and Saint Joseph's sent 16 men to the plate in the decisive frame.
On the mound, sophomore Paul Donnelly (Middleton, Mass.) was dominant from start to finish. The left-hander scattered just two hits over six shutout innings, walked two, and struck out nine as Vassar never mounted a serious threat.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- Sophomore Paul Donnelly (W, 1-0): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Vassar:
- Addison Lee (L, 0-1): 3.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
- Noah Sternberg: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Eric Wallick: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 4 BB
- John Bajaj: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Kyle Donlon: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Ryan Kastle: 2-for-2, 3 R, 3B, 4 RBI, 2 BB, SB
- Nic Frink: 2-for-4, 3 RBI
- Jake Carlisle: 1-for-3, 2 R, BB
- Matt Elwell: 1-for-1, R, RBI
- Nick Villano: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI
- Theo Masella: 1-for-2, R, SB
- Connor Finn: 1-for-4
- Jack Moltenbrey: 2 R, 2 BB
- Josh Hersey: 2 R, BB, SB
- Luke Doughty: 2 R, 2 BB
Vassar:
- Kieran McGrath: 1-for-2, 3B
- Miller Young: 1-for-2, SB
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the sweep, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-0 in the history of the series with Vassar College.
NEXT!
After a day off, the Monks will take on Emerson College on Tuesday in a doubleheader set to start at 10:30 AM.