EAST PROVIDENCE, RI – Saint Joseph's (18-6, 9-3 GNAC) won both ends of a conference two-game set with Johnson & Wales (10-15, 5-7 GNAC) on Sunday. The Monks earned a 10-2 mercy-rule win in the opener and completed the sweep with a 7-2 triumph in the nightcap.

Saint Joseph's won all six Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contests played over the last three days. The Monks swept Emmanuel College Friday, Rivier College Saturday and capped the weekend action with a pair of victories this afternoon.

In the opener, St. Joe's took the early lead on back-to-back RBI singles by sophomore Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) and junior Katelyn Call (Portland, Maine) in the top of the second.  Johnson & Wales responded in the bottom of the third as a two-run double by junior Lauren Lomonaco (Southampton, N.J.) knotted the game at 2-2. 

The visiting Monks broke open the game in the top of the fourth with seven runs, including a solo home run and a two-run single by senior Emily Leverone (Hampton, N.H.) to take the 9-2 lead.  Saint Joseph's then added a run in the sixth en route to the 10-2 victory. 

Shufelt was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBI while senior Natasha Howard (Farmington, Maine) went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI in the victory for the Monks.  Senior Kiera Walsh (Benton, Maine) picked up the complete-game win, giving up two runs on five hits in six innings of work.

Lomonaco was 2-for-3 with two RBI in the setback for JWU. 

In the nightcap, a solo home run by Leverone in the top of the first gave St. Joe's the early 1-0 lead but the Wildcats answered in the bottom of the first when they scored a pair of unearned runs to take the 2-1 advantage. 

The Monks knotted the game at 2-2 in the top of the third with an unearned run of their own.  St. Joe's then took the 5-2 lead in the top of the fifth on a two-run single by Howard and capped off the scoring for the game with two more in the seventh en route to the 7-2 victory. 

Leverone was 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI while Call was 2-for-2 three runs scored in the win for St. Joe's.  Sophomore Kayla Vannah (Waldoboro, Maine) allowed two unearned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts to pick up the complete-game victory for the Monks.

Junior Korissa Bailey (Pelham, N.H.) was 2-for-4 with a run scored in the loss for JWU. 

Both teams will play GNAC doubleheaders on the road on Wednesday at 3:00 PM as Saint Joseph's travels to Mount Ida College and Johnson & Wales makes the trip to Suffolk University.

COURTESY OF JWU SPORTS INFORMATION