STANDISH, Maine – Albertus Magnus College (17-16, 9-3 GNAC) swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball doubleheader at Saint Joseph's College (11-14, 7-3 GNAC) at Richard W. Bailey Field on Sunday afternoon. The Falcons tipped the Monks by a 2-1 score in the opener and scored six runs in the seventh inning to win the nightcap by a 9-4 margin.
The opening game setback snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Monks.
Saint Joseph's hosted a special event to celebrate girls Little League players in the State of Maine prior to and during the second contest. Inspired by the Little League's #GirlsWithGame initiative which was launched in 2019 to foster the growth in participation in sport among girls and help develop community mentors and role models, the event featured local Little League players throwing out the first pitch and joining the SJC players on field during the national anthem. After the game the youngsters ran the bases and received Monks' team photo posters to be signed by the SJC players.
ALBERTUS MAGNUS 2, SAINT JOSEPH'S 1 (8 INN.):
SJC senior starter Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine) and Albertus sophomore hurler Annabelle Jabs (East Hartland, Conn.) locked heads in a pitchers' duel as neither team found the scoreboard until both squads produced a run in the sixth inning.
In the top of the sixth, junior Skylar Arent (Ridgefield, Conn.) walked and later scored on an Isabelle Smith (Meriden, Conn.) sac fly and the Monks tied the game in the bottom of the frame when junior Mollie Verreault (Scarborough, Maine) led off with a single and eventually crossed the plate on a Chantelle Bouchard (Biddeford, Maine) base hit.
The Falcons scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the eighth when sophomore Paige Scheid (Cedar Grove, N.J.), who was placed on second to start the inning, moved to third on a ground out and sprinted home on a Hailey Laforte (Branford, Conn.) sacrifice fly.
Goodnough allowed just two hits but walked six batters and falls to 6-4 with the loss while Jabs gave up a run on four hits with no walks and six K's over eight frames to improve to 6-8 on the season.
Verreault was 2-for-4 with a run scored and was the only repeat hitter for either team in the opener.
ALBERTUS 9, SAINT JOSEPH'S 4:
The conference rivals scored all the game's runs in the first and seventh innings in the nightcap, as the Falcons held a 3-2 lead before breaking out with six runs on six hits and an SJC error in the last frame to secure a 9-2 advantage. The Monks rallied with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the inning but the effort fell short.
SJC junior starter Madison Pelletier (New Gloucester, Maine) falls to 5-8 on the season after allowing nine runs (eight earned) on 16 hits and four walks in 6.1 innings. Junior Rylee Page (Somersworth, N.H.) retired the only two batters she faced in the top of the seventh.
Albertus junior Ema Signore (East Haven, Conn.) picked up the win and is now 3-1 after giving up four runs on nine hits and two free passes with two K's in a complete-game performance.
For the Monks, junior third baseman Sylvia Foley (Scarborough, Maine) was 2-4 with three RBI and Bouchard went 2-4 with two doubles and a run scored. Sophomore Abbie Green-Sermak (Rehoboth, Mass.) picked up her first collegiate hit with a single and scored a run in the bottom of the seventh.
For Albertus, Scheid went 4-5 with a run, a stolen base, and an RBI, Arent was 3-5 with a run, a double, and three RBI, and senior Alexis Enjem (Derby, Conn.) went 2-3 with a run and two RBI.
Saint Joseph's will host University of New England on Wednesday in a non-conference doubleheader set to start at 5:00 PM.
