STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (12-16, 6-4 GNAC) split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball doubleheader with Elms College (16-7, 6-4 GNAC) at Larry Mahaney Diamond on Saturday afternoon. The Blazers opened the day with an 8-7 victory and the Monks salvaged the split with a 9-4 nightcap triumph.

ELMS 8, SAINT JOSEPH'S 7:

The Monks grabbed an early lead when junior Dawson Gundlah (York, Maine) belted a two-run home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the second and clung to a 3-2 edge through five full innings. The Blazers put the game out of reach in the top of the fifth by scoring six runs off six hits, including a two-run homer off the bat of junior Justin Miller (Prospect, Conn.), to claim an 8-3 advantage.

After being held off the board for three consecutive innings, the SJC bats mounted a comeback with four runs on four hits, including a Jonathan Dube (Rochester, N.H.) three-run jack, but the rally bid ultimately fell short.

ON THE MOUND:

SJC senior starter Samuel Jalbert (Mascouche, Que.) yielded three runs on four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in five innings but did not factor into the decision. Junior reliever Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) suffered the setback after allowing five runs on four hits and a walk in 0.1 innings while freshman Dylan Brander (Merrimack, N.H.) and senior Sean McDonough (Concord, N.H.) combined to toss 1.2 scoreless, two-hit frames while fanning three batters in relief.

Elms sophomore starter Henry Rondon (Ansonia, Conn.) improved to 2-1 on the season after giving up seven runs on 10 hits with five K's in 6.2 innings. Junior reliever Camden Murphy (Berlin, Conn.) dodged a walk to pick up the save after getting the final out of the game on a groundout.

OFF THE BAT:

• Dube went 3-4 with two runs, two doubles, a home run, and three RBI
• Gundlah was 3-3 with a home run and two RBI
• Sophomore Logan Dee (Laconia, N.H.) added two singles and a run scored in four at-bats
• For the Blazers, Miller was 2-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBI while George Chaya, Jr. (Methuen, Mass.), Tyler Galenski, and Seamus Higgins (Rutland, Mass.) notched two hits apiece

SAINT JOSEPH'S 9, ELMS 4:

Elms held a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the third, when St. Joe's scored twice off one hit and two errors to knot the game at 3-3. Dee walked, stole second and advanced to third on the catcher's throwing error, and scored when Dube struck out but reached on another error by the Blazers' backstop. Dube moved to third on a Stephens double and scored the tying run on a Jackson Stanton (Saugus, Mass.) groundout.

The Blazers regained the lead in the top of the sixth when sophomore Trevor Nohilly (Bristol, Conn.) notched an RBI double, but the Monks' bats erupted for six runs on seven hits in the bottom of the frame to claim a 9-4 cushion. Dube, Stephens, and Stanton produced RBI singles and Gundlah sent a pair home with a base hit up the middle during the six-run showing.

ON THE MOUND:

Grad starting pitcher Matthew Bergeron (Salem, N.H.) went the distance and seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. He finished the day having allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks with seven strikeouts to improve to 3-2 on the season.

Elms junior starter Kyle Sebastyanski (Auburn, Mass.) falls to 2-2 after giving up nine runs (seven earned) on 10 hits and four walks with five strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Freshman reliever Justin Saad (Waterford, Conn.) allowed two hits in 2.1 frames of scoreless relief.

OFF THE BAT:

• Stephens was 3-4 with two runs, a double, and an RBI
• Junior Matt Thibault (Nashua, N.H.) went 2-3 with a run, two walks, and a double
• Stanton was 2-5 with a run and two RBI
• Freshman Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) went 2-5 with a run scored
• For the Blazers, AJ Cook (Mendon, Mass.), Aaron Young (Somers, Conn.), and Austin Roy (Cromwell, Conn.) delivered two hits apiece

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's is now 9-3 in the history of the series with Elms College.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's resumes GNAC play tomorrow with a pair of games at Rivier University. First pitch is slated for 12:00 PM.

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