STANDISH, ME – Second-seeded Saint Joseph's College (29-10, 11-3 GNAC) defeated #3 Johnson & Wales University (14-27, 8-6 GNAC), 11-1, in a GNAC Baseball Quarterfinal at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Thursday afternoon. SJC starter Pat Moran '10 (Winterport, ME) fanned nine with an earned run and seven hits allowed and improves to 7-1 with the victory on the mound.

Todd Keneborus '11 (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus) was 2-3 with a run and three RBI, Mike Burdin '10 (Gardiner, ME) went 2-4 with two runs and two RBI, Chris Campbell '11 (Rochester, NH) scored three runs and was 2-4 with an RBI, and Craig Woodbrey '10 (Gorham, ME) went 2-3 with three runs and a double in the 10-run-rule victory.

JWU starter Jon Melendez '10 (Providence, RI) suffered the loss after surrendering seven runs, four earned, off five hits and three walks in 1.2 innings and falls to 0-2 on the year. Jason Tsangarides '11 (Hinsdale, MA) was effective in 3.1 frames of relief, allowing an earned run off three hits and a pair of walks, and Mike Wood '12 (Hudson, MA) gave up three runs off four hits in 1.2 innings of mop-up duty for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats paid dearly for shabby defensive play in the early going, as the Monks took advantage of three JWU miscues in the first two innings to secure a 7-0 lead. St. Joe's added single runs in the third and sixth frames and plated a pair in the bottom of the seventh to take the mercy-rule shortened triumph.

Campbell led off the bottom of the second with a sharp liner to right which appeared to be a single, but JWU right fielder Matt Yaeger's '11 (Glendale, AZ) misplayed the ball and the Monks' quick lead-off man made it to third base on the play. Burdin followed with a single through the left side to send Campbell home and later scored on a double-play ball to put the hosts up 2-0 after one inning.

In the second, the Monks plated a pair off bases-loaded walks before Campbell scored on a Ben Grant-Roy '10 (Biddeford, ME) sacrifice fly to make it a 5-0 game. St. Joe's increased its lead to 7-0 with an RBI single by Ian Lee '11 (Hampden, ME) and an unearned run off a JWU infield error. The Monks chased Melendez, who was replaced in favor of Tsangarides, during the five-run frame.

Woodbrey singled up the middle with one out in the third and scored on a Keneborus base-knock to make it an eight-run game. JWU center fielder Waldis Garcia '10 (Lowell, MA) led off the top of the fifth with a triple to center and scored on a Mike Murphy '11 (Pawtucket, RI) single to cut the Wildcats' deficit to 8-1. The Monks got the run back in the bottom of the sixth, as Grant-Roy led off the inning by tagging a solo home run, his fifth long ball of the year, far beyond the left field wall.

Moran cruised after allowing Murphy's run-scoring single in the fifth and retired the final eight batters he faced, three via strikeout. The Monks offense cut the game short by scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Burdin drove in Woodbrey, who notched a one-out double to left-center, with a single and Keneborus plated Campbell, who reached with an infield hit, with a sac fly to deep right field.

For the Wildcats, Murphy was 3-3 with an RBI and Garcia went 2-3 with a run scored in the losing effort.

The remainder of the GNAC Tournament will be played at Pierce Field in East Providence, RI, beginning with an elimination game featuring #3 Johnson & Wales and #4 Emerson College at 10:00 AM. The Monks will face off against #1 seed Suffolk University (20-13, 13-1 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM.

GNAC Tournament Schedule & Results:

Tuesday, April 27- First Round
#1 Suffolk and #2 St. Joe's - BYE
#6 Norwich @ #3 Johnson & Wales – JWU wins, 11-1 (Norwich eliminated)
#5 Lasell @ #4 Emerson – Emerson wins, 11-10 (Lasell eliminated)

Thursday, April 29- Quarter Finals

GAME A: #4 Emerson @ # 1 Suffolk – Suffolk wins, 5-2
GAME B: #3 Johnson & Wales @ #2 St. Joe's – St. Joe's wins, 11-1

Saturday, May 1- Semi Finals

GAME C: #4 Emerson vs. Johnson & Wales, 10:00 AM (Elimination Game)
GAME D: #1 Suffolk vs. #2 St. Joe's - 1:00 PM
GAME E: Winner of C vs. Loser of D- 4:00 PM (Elimination Game)

Sunday, May 2- Finals

GAME F: Winner of D vs. Winner of E- 12:00pm Elimination Game
GAME G: (If loser of GAME F has their first loss)