WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – No. 3 Saint Joseph's College (31-11) fell to No. 7 Lasell University, 11-5, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament action on Friday afternoon at the University of Saint Joseph Baseball Field.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's drops into the GNAC Tournament elimination bracket and will face Norwich University tomorrow at 11:00 AM. Norwich advanced earlier in the day with a win over No. 2 University of Saint Joseph, a result that knocked the Pod B host out of the tournament.
Lasell advances in the winners' bracket and will face the Saint Joseph's/Norwich winner tomorrow at 2:00 PM.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Lasell took control early and never relinquished the lead. After Saint Joseph's answered a first-inning run with a game-tying RBI single from sophomore Nick Villano (Peabody, Mass.) in the second, the Lasers erupted for six runs in the bottom of the inning. Nick Nigro delivered the biggest blow with a three-run double, while Jeremy Angeles added an RBI single to give Lasell a 7-1 advantage.
The Lasers extended the lead in the third on RBI hits from Connor Freitas and Calvin Sanft, pushing the margin to 9-1.
Saint Joseph's chipped away in the middle innings. Sophomore Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine) and senior Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) launched back-to-back solo home runs in the fifth, and Frink added an RBI single in the sixth to trim the deficit to 10-4.
Lasell added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI single by Declan Silva.
The Monks continued to compete late, loading the bases in the ninth before senior Jack Moltenbrey (East Longmeadow, Mass.) drove in a run on a fielder's choice, but Saint Joseph's could not close the gap further in the 11-5 final.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- Paul Donnelly (So., Middleton, Mass.) (L, 3-3) – 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 0 K
- William Dionne (So., Somerset, Mass.) – 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
- Henry Paquette (So., Pelham, N.H.) – 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
- Ryan Thurber (Sr., South Portland, Maine) – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
- Joey Tavares (Fr., Methuen, Mass.) – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- Nate Leavitt (So., Alton, N.H.) – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Devin Kelly (Fr., Falmouth, Maine) – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Lasell:
- Chase Supan (W, 4-2) – 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
- Benjamin Conlon – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
Lasell:
- Declan Silva – 3-for-6, 2 RBI, 2B
- Nick Nigro – 2-for-5, 3 RBI, 2B
- Calvin Sanft – 3-for-4, 2 RBI
- Connor Freitas – 1-for-3, 3 R, RBI, 2B
- Jeremy Angeles – 1-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB
