AUBURNDALE, Fla. — St. John Fisher (2-3) defeated Saint Joseph’s College (0-2), 5-4 in Monday morning’s RussMatt Central Florida Invitational baseball action.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Cardinals started the game in the bottom of the second inning when junior catcher Jake Meeker plated a pair with a double to left center. St. John Fisher secured a 3-0 advantage when junior Nick Lemire delivered a run-scoring single with two outs.
Saint Joseph’s eventually got to the top of fourth as the Monks hit four runs from two hits to gain a one-run lead. Senior catcher Jackson Stanton (Saugus, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and trotted home when the following hitter, junior first baseman Matt Thibault (Nashua, NH), started a home run behind the left center wall. Junior left fielder Dawson Gundlah (York, Maine) then scored on the left, scoring later when senior shortstop Zach Miles (Concord, NH) reached after a fielder’s pick. Freshman right fielder Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Connecticut), who was hit by a faulty fastball, later stole home on a first and third steal game to make it a 4-3 game.
St. John Fisher immediately leveled the game at the end of the fourth when senior second baseman Noah Campanelli walked and later scurried home from a throwing error while attempting to steal third base.
The Cardinals managed to cross over the game-winning run at the end of the sixth when Meeker made a leadoff walk, finished second and hit on a Campanelli base hit.
The Monks had loaded the bases with one out in the seventh and were third in the ninth with two outs, but St. John Fisher escaped the threats unscathed.
ON THE HILL:
SJC senior starter Samuel Jalbert (Mascouche, Que.) disregarded the decision after hitting four runs with four hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 3.1 innings. Freshman reliever Dylan Brander (Merrimack, NH) threw well but took the loss after conceding a run on two hits and a pair of walks with three punchouts in 2.1 innings of work. Senior Sean McDonough (Concord, NH) and junior Luke Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) played scoreless innings for relief.
St. John Fisher freshman starter Benjamin Huckans surrendered the two-barrel homer to Thibault and fanned out five batters in three innings. Reliever Russell Dunlap earned the win after hurling 3.2 innings of two-hit relief with two strikeouts, and Ryan O’Mara was rewarded with a save after knocking down all three batsmen he faced in the top of the ninth had.
FROM THE BAT:
Senior Jonathan Dube (Rochester, NH) reached base three times and was 1-3 with a pair of walks and a stolen base. Thibault was 1-4 with a two-run homer. Wilhelm was 1-2 with a run, a walk, and a stolen base. For the Cardinals, right fielder Ben Lavery went 2-5 with a run made and Meeker went 1-1 with a double, two RBI, two walks, and a stolen base: 2
HISTORICAL TALK:
With the loss, Saint Joseph’s falls to 3-5 all-time against St. John Fisher, a team that defeated the Monks 9-2 in their last meeting (03/01/20).
NEXT!
The Monks will take on their third opponent of the 2022 NCAA tournament in as many days tomorrow when they take on Immaculata University at 9:00 a.m. in Lake Myrtle #5.
