Softball Drops a Pair on Opening Day

FORT MYERS, FL – Saint Joseph's College dropped two games on opening day as the Monks fell to Finlandia University, 6-1, before suffering a 3-2 setback at the hands of North Park University in the Gene Cusic Classic on Monday.

GAME ONE

Senior pitcher Maddie Kluna (Standish, Maine) took the loss (0-1) in the complete game effort allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits, walking two and striking out two.  For Finlandia, Brittany Garland (Long Beach, Calif.) notched the win, going all seven innings allowing one unearned run, scattering five hits while also dealing two free passes and fanning a pair.

Finlandia jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI double by Kayla Sax (Los Angeles, Calif.), who scored on Erica Taft's (Rowland Heights, Calif.) single. All the damage was done with two outs, after Kluna forced the first two batters of the game to ground out and fly out, respectively. 

The Monks did not get their first baserunner until the bottom of the third when freshman third baseman Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) laced a two-out single for her first collegiate hit. Jordan stole second base and then scored on a Brittany Garland error off the bat of junior right fielder Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.), cutting the deficit in half at 2-1.

The Lions answered immediately, adding two more runs in the top of the fourth when freshman third baseman Sam Walters (Cable, Wis.) doubled in the pair. Finlandia added single runs in the sixth and seventh and shut down the Monks over the final four frames en route to the 6-1 victory.

Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) led the Monks with two hits, one being a double.  Rae-Marie Copan (Newton, Mass.), Jordan, and Connie Grovo (Limington, Maine) added one hit a piece in the losing effort.

Walters sparked the Lions' offense going 3-3 with three RBI and two doubles.

GAME TWO

It was a frustrating loss for St. Joe's as they outhit the Vikings by an 8-4 margin but the Monks left eight on base, including five in scoring position, in a losing effort.

Copan pitched well enough to win but was the tough-luck loser (0-1) going all eight innings, allowing three runs (all unearned) off four hits with three strikeouts.

The Vikings sent Courtney Lucht (Red Bud, Ill.) to the circle and she held off a few SJC rallies over her eight innings of work, allowing two runs (both earned) on eight hits, walking one, and punching out five batters.

North Park University held a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. With runners on second and third and two outs, Shufelt put the Monks on the board with an RBI single. The next batter, Grovo, tied the game at 2-2 with a clutch RBI single to center field.

With the scored tied through seven regulation frames the contest was headed for extra play. Via international tie-breaker rules, North Park placed a runner – Jessica Cerese (Park Ridge, Ill.) – on second base to start the eighth. She was promptly moved over to third on a sac bunt by Annalis Matta (Chicago, Ill.) and, after a pop-out to short, scored on an RBI single by Sonya Le (Champaign, Ill.).

The Monks placed senior center fielder Emily Leverone (Hampton, N.H.) on second and she scampered over to third on a line-out to short off the bat of Heather Tripp (Lovell, Maine). Leverone would get no closer to home however, as she was gunned down at third when the following batter, Hendrix, hit a grounder to short. Sophomore shortstop Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) grounded out for the final out of the contest.

Leverone and senior catcher Maria Labbe (Lewiston, Maine) led the St. Joe's batters with two hits apiece.

The Monks will look for their first win of the young season Tuesday morning at 11am against Kenyon College. The Vikings take on Ohio Wesleyan University Tuesday at 9am.