SIXTH-INNING SURGE BOOSTS MONKS OVER SAINTS
April 13, 2008
Boston, MA - The visiting Monks of Saint Joseph's College put together a strong sixth-inning to edge the host Saints, 9-7, in the opening game of Sunday's GNAC double-header. Emmanuel charged out to an early 5-1 lead, but Saint Joe's chipped away and trailed by a 7-6 margin before the late sixth-inning rally. The Monks' momentum carried into game two and Saint Joseph's came away with an 11-0 win in the nightcap. With these two GNAC wins, the Monks improved to 15-9 overall and 10-4 in conference play, while the Saints fell to 0-25-1 on the season.
The Saints received strong offense from sophomore left-fielder Samantha Luther (Carlisle, MA), who went 4 for 7 on the day. Senior third-baseman Jen Walsh (West Springfield, MA) went 2 for 4 in the opener and kicked off the scoring for the Saints with a lead-off single in the 2nd inning. Senior pitcher Stephanie Rege (Chicopee, MA) followed with an RBI double that scored Walsh. Sophomore catcher Sarah Palmer-Thompson (Dennis, MA) then knocked in Rege with a triple in the following at-bat. Sophomore short-stop Danielle Andruskewic (Orange, CT) knocked in two more runs with a triple of her own later in the same inning.
Emmanuel tacked on a couple more runs in the bottom of the fourth, when sophomore second-baseman Kristina Borrelli (Kingston, MA) hit a two-run homer that scored senior center-fielder Nicole Ferraro (Lakeville, MA), who had reached on a walk in the previous at-bat. The Monks began their comeback in the top of the 5th, scoring four runs and cutting their deficit to 7-6.
In the top of the sixth, Saint Joseph's lead-off hitter Alysn Ludwig (Waldoboro, ME) reached on a single. Sophomore center-fielder Anna Willis (Gorham, ME) ripped a shot toward right that was misplayed by an Emmanuel fielder and resulted in a four-base error that scored both Ludwig and Willis and gave the Monks an 8-7 lead. Two more Saint Joseph's hits resulted in another run for the Monks and brought the final score to 9-7 in favor of the visitors. Rege went the distance in the circle for Emmanuel, facing 37 batters and giving up 8 hits.
The Saints will be looking for their first wins of the season this Wednesday afternoon (4/16). Emmanuel is scheduled to play in a GNAC double-header, taking on the Blue Jays of Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, CT at 3pm. The Saints will play at home three times this weekend, taking on Emerson College on Friday, Johnson & Wales University on Saturday, and Mount Ida College on Sunday. All of these home games will be played at Rotch Park in Boston.