STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (25-10, 10-6 GNAC) split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader with Dean College (16-13, 8-8 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon at Larry Mahaney Diamond. The Monks claimed the opener, 6-2, before the Bulldogs answered with a 7-3 victory in the nightcap.
SENIOR MOMENT:
Prior to the start of the doubleheader, Saint Joseph's held a brief on-field ceremony to honor the program's 10 seniors and their families: Dylan Brander (Merrimack, N.H.), Luke Doughty (York, Maine), Ryan Kastle (Concord, N.H.), Padraig Mac Seain (Brookline, N.H.), Jack Moltenbrey (East Longmeadow, Mass.), Terry Morrissey (Andover, Mass.), Thomas O'Koniewski (Lawrence, Mass.), Michael Richards (Melrose, Mass.), Ryan Thurber (South Portland, Maine), and Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.).
GAME ONE – Saint Joseph's 6, Dean 2
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Dean struck first with a pair of unearned runs in the second inning, capitalizing on two Saint Joseph's errors to take a 2-0 lead.
The Monks answered immediately in the bottom half. Senior Michael Richards and sophomore Nick Villano (Pittsfield, Mass.) drew walks before sophomore Theo Masella (Manchester, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sophomore Nick Brindle (Pittsfield, Mass.) then delivered a two-run single to center, evening the score at 2-2.
Saint Joseph's took control in the third. Sophomore Jake Carlisle (Portsmouth, N.H.) walked and later scored, while Villano added an RBI single and Masella brought home another run on a fielder's choice as the Monks pushed ahead, 5-2.
The Monks added an insurance run in the fourth when sophomore Connor Finn (Kingston, Mass.) scored on an RBI single by sophomore Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine), and senior Dylan Brander made the lead stand the rest of the way with a complete-game effort.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
Dean:
- Stephen Wyszynski (L, 0-2) – 4.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 1 K
- JR Salvadore – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Nick Brindle – 2-for-3, 2 RBI
- Nic Frink – 1-for-3, R, RBI, BB
- Nick Villano – 1-for-2, R, RBI, BB
- Connor Finn – 1-for-2, R
- Vinny O'Leary (Jr., North Quincy, Mass.) – 1-for-4
- Michael Richards – 2 R, 2 BB
Dean:
- Gavin Goss – 1-for-3, R
- Spencer Lichstrahl – 1-for-3, R
- Dylan Altermatt – 1-for-3
- Case Lachance – 1-for-2, BB
GAME TWO – Dean 7, Saint Joseph's 3
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's struck first in the opening inning when junior Vinny O'Leary doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Jake Carlisle for a 1-0 lead.
Dean responded with two runs in the second and added another in the third to take a 3-1 advantage, highlighted by an RBI double from Nick Amendolara.
The game remained tight into the late innings before Dean broke it open in the eighth. The Bulldogs capitalized on an error and strung together four hits, including a two-run single by Amendolara and RBI hits from Spencer Lichstrahl and Dylan Altermatt, to extend the lead to 7-1.
Saint Joseph's answered with two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Senior Jack Moltenbrey was hit by a pitch, O'Leary doubled, and Brindle followed with an RBI single. Frink added a run-scoring hit to trim the deficit to 7-3, but the Monks were unable to complete the comeback.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
Paul Donnelly (So., Middleton, Mass.) (L, 3-2) – 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
William Dionne (So., Somerset, Mass.) – 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Ryan Thurber – 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Dean:
- Kiefer Culligan (W, 3-1) – 8.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
- Domenic Brazeau – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
Dean:
- Nick Amendolara – 3-for-4, 3 RBI, 2B
- Gavin Goss – 3-for-5, R
- Spencer Lichstrahl – 2-for-4, RBI, 2B
- Dylan Altermatt – 2-for-4, 2 RBI
- Jacob Paschetto – 1-for-4, R
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the split, Saint Joseph's is now 8-2 in the history of the series with Dean College.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host New England College on Tuesday in a conference twinbill set to start at 2:00 PM. The two-game set was originally scheduled for tomorrow but was postponed due the weather forecast.
