STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College ( split a GNAC softball doubleheader with Albertus Magnus College (21-16, 14-4 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon at Richard W. Bailey Field, earning a dramatic 6-5 walk-off victory in eight innings in the opener before falling 8-4 in game two.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's has claimed the #2 seed in pod B of the GNAC Tournament and will host #3 Emmanuel College in a first-round matchup, start time TBD. Albertus Magnus has secured the top seed in pod B and will serve as a pod host next weekend.
SENIOR MOMENT:
Before the start of the opener, Saint Joseph's held a brief ceremony to honor the Monks' five seniors as well as their families: Chantelle Bouchard (Biddeford, Maine), Anna Gilbert (Gray, Maine), Abbie Green-Sermak (Rehoboth, Mass.), Miranda Northrup (Whitefield, Maine), and Sadie Tirrell (Naples, Maine). All five players are four-year members of the SJC softball program and their contributions, on and off the field, will be missed next year.
GAME ONE – Saint Joseph's 6, Albertus Magnus 5 (8 inn.)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Albertus Magnus grabbed an early lead and carried a 4-1 advantage into the bottom of the sixth before the Monks came to life. Tirrell singled to start the inning and Bouchard followed with a hit before Gilbert reached on an error to bring in a run. After sophomore Breann MacMillan (Medway, Mass.) entered as a pinch runner and stole second, freshman Brianna Eastman (West Baldwin, Maine) lined a two-run single up the middle to tie the game at 4-4.
Albertus Magnus scratched across a run in the top of the eighth to move back in front, but Saint Joseph's had one last answer. With Bouchard placed on second to start the bottom half, Gilbert moved her over with a sacrifice bunt and junior Kryslin Stearns (Concord, N.H.) followed by blasting a two-run homer to center, lifting the Monks to the thrilling walk-off win.
IN THE CIRCLE:
Saint Joseph's:
- Miranda Northrup – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB
- Freshman Olivia Thomas (Belgrade, Maine) (W, 3-6) – 4.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 7 BB, 1 K
Albertus Magnus:
- Karla Carangelo – 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
- Madison Wilson – 0.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER
- Annabelle Jabs (L, 10-8) – 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
Albertus Magnus:
- Mikaela Schwippert – 1-for-3, R, RBI, BB
- Reilly Austin – 1-for-2, 3 BB
- Amelia Ovalles – 1-for-2, 2 BB
- Izzy Barreiro – 1-for-3, RBI
- Gianna Carrano – 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB
GAME TWO – Albertus Magnus 8, Saint Joseph's 4
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Albertus Magnus scored four times in the first and added two more in the second to seize control of the nightcap. Saint Joseph's chipped away with a pair of runs in the third, as Bouchard singled home a run and Eastman added an RBI single, then pulled within 6-4 in the fifth on run-scoring hits from Bouchard and Stearns.
That was as close as the Monks would get. Albertus Magnus answered with two runs in the sixth and limited Saint Joseph's to one hit over the final two innings to salvage the split.
IN THE CIRCLE:
Saint Joseph's:
- Sophomore Sierra Laukka (Hope, Maine) (L, 4-7) – 1.1 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 5 BB
- Olivia Thomas – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
- Lulu Dias (Fr., Danvers, Mass.) – 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R
Albertus Magnus:
- Tessa D'Aquila – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB
- Amelia Ovalles (W, 5-5) – 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Sadie Tirrell – 1-for-4, R, 2B
- Chantelle Bouchard – 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B
- Brianna Eastman – 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB
- Kryslin Stearns – 2-for-4, RBI
- Addison French (So., Rochester, N.H.) – 1-for-3, R
Albertus Magnus:
- Mikaela Schwippert – 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2B
- Amelia Boulli – 1-for-2, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB
- Karla Carangelo – 1-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B
- Reilly Austin – 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB
- Izzy Barreiro – 2-for-3, 3 RBI, BB
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the split, Saint Joseph's moves to 23-13 all-time against Albertus Magnus.
