WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Facing elimination twice in the same day, No. 3 Saint Joseph's College (33-11) stayed alive in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament with a pair of victories on Sunday, blanking No. 6 Norwich University, 8-0, before erupting for a 17-5 win over No. 7 Lasell University.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the wins, Saint Joseph's earns the right to host Lasell tomorrow at 3:00 PM at Larry Mahaney Diamond with a spot in the GNAC Championship series at stake. The winner will face top-seeded Mitchell College in a best-of-three series on May 7-8 in New London, Connecticut. Mitchell reached the championship series for the third straight season after sweeping through Pod A with wins over Elms College and Dean College.
For Norwich, this morning's loss to the Monks brings an end to the 2026 season. The Cadets knocked Pod B host University of Saint Joseph out of the GNAC Tournament with a 4-3 triumph on Saturday.
GAME ONE – Saint Joseph's 8, Norwich 0
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks broke through in the third when sophomore Nick Brindle (Pittsfield, Mass.) doubled home a run, and added two more in the fourth on back-to-back solo homers from seniors Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) and Michael Richards (Melrose, Mass.) to build a 3-0 lead.
The back-to-back jacks marked the second-consecutive game in which consecutive SJC batters belted blasts after sophomore Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine) and Wilhelm went deep in a loss to Lasell on Saturday.
Saint Joseph's continued to add on in the middle innings. Sophomore Jake Carlisle (Portsmouth, N.H.) delivered an RBI double in the fifth, and the Monks broke the game open in the seventh. Junior Vinny O'Leary (North Quincy, Mass.) tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly before Richards ripped a two-run triple to extend the lead to 7-0.
The Monks tacked on an additional run in the eighth on a Carlisle sacrifice fly.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- William Dionne (So., Somerset, Mass.) (W, 4-1) – 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
- Devin Kelly (Fr., Falmouth, Maine) – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
- Thomas O'Koniewski (Sr., Lawrence, Mass.) – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Norwich:
- James Vinchetti (L, 1-5) – 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
- Bryson Bush – 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Isaac Parker – 1.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Vinny O'Leary – 2-for-3, 2 R, BB, 3B
- Michael Richards – 3-for-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, 3B
- Jared Wilhelm – 2-for-5, 2 R, RBI, HR
- Jake Carlisle – 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2B
- Nick Brindle – 1-for-2, R, RBI, 2B, 2 BB
GAME TWO – Saint Joseph's 17, Lasell 5
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After taking a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI double by sophomore Connor Finn (Kingston, Mass.), the Monks built a 3-1 edge in the fourth with run-scoring hits from Michael Richards and sophomore Nick Villano (Peabody, Mass.).
The game broke open in the fifth. Jared Wilhelm doubled and Richards followed with a three-run homer to cap a five-run inning that pushed the lead to 8-1.
Saint Joseph's continued to add on in the sixth and seventh. Jake Carlisle launched a two-run homer as part of a three-run sixth, and the Monks plated three more in the seventh on RBI hits from Brindle and Carlisle to extend the advantage to 14-1.
Lasell rallied for four runs in the eighth, but Saint Joseph's answered again in the ninth. Senior Luke Doughty (York, Maine) tripled home a run, junior Rhyse Owens (Buxton, Maine) added an RBI single, and Nic Frink capped the scoring with an RBI double to seal the 17-5 victory.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- Tyler Nelson (Fr., Medford, Mass.) (W, 4-0) – 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
- Henry Paquette (So., Pelham, N.H.) – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- Victor Caira (Jr., Newton, Mass.) – 1.1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
- Nate Leavitt (So., Alton, N.H.) – 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB
- Brady Cabral (Jr., Fall River, Mass.) – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Lasell:
- Connor Freitas (L, 0-1) – 4.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Lucas Stogner – 1.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER
- Michael Webber – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER
- Joshua Cavas – 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER
- Sawyer DiMatteo – 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Nick Brindle – 4-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI
- Nic Frink – 4-for-6, 2 R, RBI, 2B
- Michael Richards – 2-for-3, 3 R, 4 RBI, HR, 2B
- Jake Carlisle – 2-for-4, R, 4 RBI, HR
- Jared Wilhelm – 2-for-4, R, RBI, 2B
- Connor Finn – 2-for-2, RBI, 2B
