CLERMONT, Fla. – Saint Joseph's College (4-6) capped the 2020 spring trip on Friday with a 1-0 win over Muskingum (5-5) and a 9-1 five-inning loss to Webster University (3-3).

Freshman pitcher Meredith Pence (Remington, Va.) picked up her first NCAA victory after tossing a complete-game shutout with three hits allowed and a pair of strikeouts. The Monks scored the game's only run in the bottom of the fourth when freshman first baseman Olivia Howe (Saco, Maine) and senior designated player Maizie Lee (Saco, Maine) roped back-to-back doubles to center field.

Muskingum nearly tied the game in the top of the seventh with a runner on third and one out, but Pence settled in to record the second out via strikeout and the third on a slow roller to short with a close play at first. Junior catcher Makayla Cooper (Fryeburg, Maine) made two big plays that will not be found on the box score, first catching a third-strike foul tip for the second out and later blocking a difficult pitch in the dirt with the tying run just 60 feet away.

Lee was 2-2 with a double and an RBI in the 1-0 shutout victory.

In the 9-1 loss to Webster, junior center fielder Meranda Martin (Richmond, Maine) was 2-3 with a run and a stolen base and Howe went 1-2 with an RBI. Freshman starter Sydney Hatch (Newburgh, Maine) suffered the loss after yielding seven runs (five earned) off six hits and a walk with one strikeout in 1.2 innings of work. Senior Kate Whitney (Jonesboro, Maine) allowed two runs off four hits with one punch-out in 2.2 frames of relief.

Saint Joseph's is off until Tuesday, March 24th when the team hosts University of New England in a non-conference doubleheader slated to begin at 3:30 PM.

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