STANDISH, Maine – No. 3 Saint Joseph's College (34-11) outlasted No. 7 Lasell University (21-20), 6-3, in the 2026 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Pod B final at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Monday afternoon.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC Championship Series and will play a best-of-three set at top-seeded Mitchell College this Thursday and Friday. Game one is slated for a 2:00 PM first pitch on Thursday, while game two will begin at 11:00 AM on Friday, with the if-necessary game to follow.
For Lasell, the loss signals the end of the 2026 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Lasell struck first with a run in the opening inning, but Saint Joseph's answered immediately in the second. Junior Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) led off the frame with a solo home run, and sophomore Nick Villano (Peabody, Mass.) added a solo shot later in the inning to give the Monks a 2-1 lead.
The Lasers responded in the third, capitalizing on a pair of Saint Joseph's miscues and a two-run single by Jeremy Angeles to regain a 3-2 advantage.
Saint Joseph's flipped the game for good in the fourth. Sophomore Connor Finn (Kingston, Mass.) worked a walk and Villano followed with a single before freshman Theo Masella (Manchester, Mass.) reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt, allowing both runners to score. Junior Vinny O'Leary (North Quincy, Mass.) moved Masella to third with a sacrifice bunt, and sophomore Nick Brindle (Pittsfield, Mass.) lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center to push the lead to 5-3.
The score could have looked much different, as senior catcher Michael Richards (Melrose, Mass.) had two potential home runs taken away by Lasell outfielders. Center fielder Declan Silva made the first highlight-reel play in the second inning, climbing the fence in left-center to rob Richards of a solo blast. Right fielder Jonah Nielsen followed with an even bigger play in the third, reaching over the wall to take away what would have been a grand slam.
After three scoreless frames, the Monks added an insurance run in the eighth when Masella singled, moved to second on an O'Leary sacrifice bunt, and scored on an RBI single by sophomore Jake Carlisle (Portsmouth, N.H.) to make it 6-3.
Senior starter Dylan Brander (Merrimack, N.H.) worked four effective innings on just two days' rest before turning the ball over to senior Ryan Thurber (South Portland, Maine), who earned the win with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief. Sophomore Paul Donnelly (Middleton, Mass.) followed with 1.2 perfect innings and three strikeouts before sophomore Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine) worked around a hit batter and an infield error—and was aided by a diving catch in right by Carlisle—to close out the victory.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- Dylan Brander – 4.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
- Ryan Thurber (W, 3-0) – 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
- Paul Donnelly – 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
- Nic Frink (SV, 1) – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Lasell:
- Luke Descheneaux (L, 2-4) – 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
- Derrick Dellea – 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Jeremy Wacker – 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Benjamin Conlon – 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Chase Supan – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Jake Carlisle – 3-for-5, RBI
- Nick Villano – 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, HR
- Theo Masella – 3-for-4, 2 R
- Vinny O'Leary – 2-for-2, BB
- Jared Wilhelm – 1-for-4, R, RBI, HR
- Nick Brindle – 1-for-3, SF, RBI
Lasell:
- Declan Silva – 3-for-5, R
- Tim Callahan – 2-for-5
- Jeremy Angeles – 2-for-4, 2 RBI
- Calvin Sanft – 1-for-4, RBI
