PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Theodores '25
NEW LONDON, Conn. – #4 Colby-Sawyer College (24-16) defeated #8 Saint Joseph's College (14-25), 12-8, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Tournament Pod A action on Saturday.
With the loss, the Monks' 2024 season comes to a close. Colby-Sawyer will face top-seeded Mitchell College in the Pod A finale tomorrow.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Chargers opened the scoring with two runs on four hits in the top of the first and assumed a 5-0 lead after plating three off four hits in the top of the second. The Monks rallied with four runs of their own in the bottom of the second, as senior Matt Thibault (Nashua, N.H.) roped a two-run double, sophomore Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) notched a run-scoring double, and junior Michael Wearne (Ellington, Conn.) knocked in a run with a single to make it a 5-4 game.
Saint Joseph's secured a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the fourth when sophomore catcher Michael Richards (Melrose, Mass.) reached on an error and scored on a Wilhelm base hit. Freshman Vinny O'Leary (North Quincy, Mass.) lifted the Royal Blue to a one-run edge with a sac fly.
The lead proved to be short lived however, as the Chargers went on to score seven runs on six hits over the following two innings. The Monks received an RBI single from junior Alex Moore (Henniker, N.H.) in the bottom of the fifth and Thibault sent home a run in the seventh to account for the 12-8 final.
ON THE MOUND:
SJC sophomore starter Dylan Brander (Merrimack, N.H.) took the loss after allowing nine runs on 14 hits and two walks in 4.2 innings while junior Logan Dee (Laconia, N.H.) yielded three runs on one hit and two walks in 0.1 innings of work. Junior Hugh Barrett (Durham, Conn.) closed the door on the Chargers with four two-hit innings while fanning four batters.
CSC starter Colin Burchard did not figure into the decision after giving up seven runs (four earned) on six hits and five walks with a pair of punch outs in 4.2 innings. Reliever Hayden Goerlich was credited with the victory after working 1.1 hitless innings.
AT THE BAT:
Thibault was 2-3 with a run, a double, and three RBI, Wilhelm went 2-5 with a double and two RBI, and sophomore shortstop Luke Doughty (York, Maine) was 1-2 with a run scored and a pair of walks.
The Chargers notched 17 hits with every starter notching at least one knock in the victory. Sean Roeger was 4-5 with a run and two RBI, Cooper O'Brien went 3-4 with three runs, a double, and an RBI, and Dylan Watson, Cam Carignan, and Noah Staffier added two hits apiece.
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