STANDISH, Maine - #1N Saint Joseph's College (18-16) defeated #5N New England College (15-23), 9-4, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball Tournament Pod A matchup at Richard W. Bailey Field on Friday afternoon.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the winners' bracket of the double-elimination tourney and will face #3S Johnson & Wales University, which defeated #2S Mitchell College in today's later game, tomorrow at Bailey Field at 1:30 PM.

New England College will take on Mitchell College in an elimination game tomorrow at Bailey Field at 11:00 AM.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

After a scoreless first inning, the Monks managed to plate five runs - all with two out – on just two hits in the bottom of the second. Sophomore Sadie Tirrell (Naples, Maine) was hit by a pitch and Paige Connery (Tyngsboro, Mass.), Madison Pelletier (New Gloucester, Maine), Mollie Verreault (Scarborough, Maine), and Hannah Gosselin (Biddeford, Maine) worked walks to make it a 2-0 game. Sophomore catcher Chantelle Bouchard (Biddeford, Maine) roped an RBI single and junior Sylvia Foley (Scarborough, Maine) blooped a single to right to knock in a pair and cap the five-run second frame.

St. Joe's tacked on a pair in the third, when Tirrell led off with a double and trotted home on a Pelletier triple to left field. Casey Carter (Bangor, Maine) entered the game as a pinch runner for Pelletier and promptly scored on a Charlotte Cloutier (Lewiston, Maine) double to deep left-center, lifting the hosts to a 7-0 advantage.

The Pilgrims finally got on the board with four runs on five hits and an SJC error in the top of the fourth. Sophomore Emma Lopez (Downey, Calif.) notched a two-run single while Abigail Grimes (Baltimore, Md.) and Amaya Rodriguez (Indio, Calif.) rapped RBI base hits to cut the SJC lead to 7-4.

The Monks did not allow another run and tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to account for the 9-4 final. In the fifth, Cloutier reached on a fielder's choice and scored on a Bouchard sac fly and Foley singled and sprinted home on a Connery base hit in the sixth.

IN THE CIRCLE:

Pelletier picked up the victory and is now 10-8 on the season after allowing four unearned runs on 10 hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts in six innings. Senior Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine) allowed a hit and fanned one batter in the seventh inning.

NEC junior starter Olivia Olson (North Haven, Conn.) falls to 12-12 after giving up nine runs (seven earned) on 13 hits and five walks in a complete game performance.

AT THE BAT:

• Foley went 3-4 with a run and two RBI
• Bouchard was 2-3 with a pair of RBI
• Tirrell was 2-2 with two runs and a double
• Pelletier went 2-3 with a run, a triple, and an RBI
• For NEC, Rodriguez went 3-4 with an RBI while Grimes, Emily Gagne (Portsmouth, N.H.), and Sonia Garcia (San Bernardino, Calif.) posted two hits apiece

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