STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (28-10) knocked off No. 28 University of Southern Maine (22-7), 8-7, in 11 innings on Tuesday afternoon at Larry Mahaney Diamond.
Freshman pitcher Joey Tavares (Methuen, Mass.) played a pivotal role in the triumph, as the first-year reliever tossed five shutout innings with a pair of strikeouts. Making just his second collegiate appearance and first since March 13, Tavares held the Huskies' high-powered lineup to a single hit over his five dominant frames.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Southern Maine, ranked 28th nationally in the latest ABCA weekly poll, struck first with two runs in the opening inning as Evan Baschnagel scored on Kyle Douin's RBI double before Caleb Vacchiano added a run-scoring single.
Saint Joseph's answered immediately with a four-run bottom of the first. Sophomore Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine) singled and junior Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) reached on an error before senior Michael Richards (Melrose, Mass.) launched a two-run homer to left, putting the Monks in front, 4-2.
The Huskies chipped away over the next several innings. Kaiden Morin brought home a run with a groundout in the second, Vacchiano scored on an error in the third, then belted a solo homer in the fifth. Southern Maine added two more in the sixth when Chris Quigley doubled, Douin drove in a run with a single, and Peter Keblinsky followed with a sacrifice fly to give USM a 7-4 lead.
The Monks responded in the bottom of the sixth. Frink singled, junior Theo Masella (Manchester, Mass.) followed with a base hit, and sophomore Nick Villano (Peabody, Mass.) crushed a three-run homer to left to even the score at 7-7.
Neither team scored again until the 11th, when Masella opened the inning with a single and Villano followed with another hit. After senior Ryan Kastle (Concord, N.H.) worked a walk to load the bases, senior Luke Doughty (York, Maine) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Masella with the game-winning run.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- Nate Leavitt (So., Alton, N.H.) – 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Ryan Thurber (Sr., South Portland, Maine) – 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
- Devin Kelly (Fr., Falmouth, Maine) – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Joey Tavares (W, 1-0) – 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Southern Maine:
- Riley O'Brien – 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- Jackson Emery – 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
- Charlie Hudson – 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER
- Colin McDonald – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER
- Gabe Gifford – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER
- Sam Calder (L, 1-1) – 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
Southern Maine:
- Kyle Douin – 3-for-4, RBI, 2B
- Caleb Vacchiano – 3-for-5, 2 RBI, HR
- Carter Higgins – 2-for-5
- Kaiden Morin – 1-for-6, RBI
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 15-58 in the history of the series with Southern Maine.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's returns to action on Saturday, April 25, when the Monks travel to Colby-Sawyer College for a GNAC doubleheader beginning at 12:00 PM.
