GORHAM, Maine -- The Saint Joseph's College Monks
rallied for five runs over the final two innings en route to a 7-4
win over the University of Southern Maine in a non-conference
college baseball game Friday afternoon at the USM Baseball
Field.
The win extends the Monks' winning streak to 10 games and improves
their overall record to 23-6. The Huskies, who had their seven-game
winning streak stopped, slip to 15-9 overall.
Trailing 4-2 heading into the eighth inning, the
Monks used two hits, a hit batsman and a throwing error to score
three times to take a 5-4 lead. They added a couple of insurance
runs in the ninth to seal the win.
Sophomore SS Brian Schools
(Gorham, Maine) opened the eighth with a single, and moved to
second when junior LF Keil Martin (Saco, Maine)
was hit by a pitch. Junior 3B Mark Clapp (Blue
Hill, Maine/George Stevens Academy) laid down a sacrifice bunt that
was thrown away down the right field line, allowing Schools and
Martin to score, and Clapp to wind up on third. Sophomore 2B
Luke Enman (Milan, N.H./Berlin) smacked a double
to score Clapp with the go ahead run.
In the ninth, sophomore CF Dustin
Spiller (Gorham, Maine), who had three hits, came up with
a clutch two-out, two-run single to give the Monks some breathing
room.
Southern Maine opened a 4-0 lead in the first three
innings before the Monks chipped away for an unearned run in the
fourth and seventh innings.
The Huskies scored in the first on a sacrifice fly
by junior RF Ryan Bourque (Sanford, Maine). In the third, the
Huskies got RBI singles from Bourque and junior 1B Max Arsenault
(Boothbay, Maine). Bourque, who had taken second on a throw to
plate, scored when Arsenault's single was mishandled in the
outfield.
Senior P Jack Hughes (Dudley,
Mass.) picked up the win in relief. Hughes came on with one out in
the seventh and struck out three of the four batters he faced.
Sophomore DH/P Charlie Furbush (South Portland,
Maine) came on in the eight to earn a save. Furbush fanned four of
the five batters he faced. Senior P Brett Rogers (Orr's Island,
Maine/Mt. Ararat) was tagged with the loss for the Huskies.
Saint Joseph's will host Elms College in a North
Atlantic Conference doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:00 p.m.
