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| Andrew Keirstead
'10 |
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Luke Enman '08 |
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| Wade Oliver
'09 |
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QUINCY, MA - Starting pitcher SO Andrew
Keirstead (Westbrook, ME) tossed a complete game
masterpiece and the Monks (23-13, 8-6) surged for seven runs in the
seventh to earn a convincing 7-1 win over top seed Suffolk University
(23-9, 14-0) on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the GNAC playoffs.
JR Wade Oliver (Owls Head, ME) recorded
a two-out, two-RBI single in the big inning and SR Luke
Enman (Milan, NH) was 3-5 with a run in the victory.
Head Coach Will Sanborn reaches the 400-win plateau with the conference
quarterfinal triumph and now holds a career and Monks baseball all-time
best record of 400-242-6 (.623).
Suffolk starter SR Steve Durant (Malden, MA) and Keirstead
locked heads in a pitcher’s duel for the first five innings
with the score tied at 0-0 going into the sixth.
The Monks were sparked by Enman, as he led off the
6th with a single to left and SO Ben Grant-Roy
(Biddeford, ME) reached on an error by Suffolk third baseman SO Mike
Kenneally (Georgetown, MA). SR Dustin Spiller
(Gorham, ME) laid down a perfectly placed bunt between Durant and
Kenneally to load the bases with nobody out. SO Ian
Lee (Hampden, ME) broke the scoreless tie with a
sac fly to left field that scored Enman.
With runners on first and second, Durant made a throwing error to
first on a sac bunt attempt by FY Eric LaBatte
(Rochester, NH) that scored Grant-Roy. Spiller
advanced to third and LaBatte was thrown out trying
to advance to second base on the play for the second out of the inning.
FY Todd Keneborus (Hollis Center,
ME) then doubled home Spiller to give St. Joe’s
a 3-0 lead. SO Travis Adams (Saco,
ME) followed with a base on balls and both he and Keneborus
advanced a base on a passed ball that kicked off Rams catcher SO Bobby
Barrett (Milton, MA).
Oliver followed with a hard-hit single up the middle
that sent both Keneborus and Adams
across the plate to provide the Monks with a five-run cushion. After
SR Brian Schools (Gorham, ME) reached
with a base-hit bunt, Suffolk right fielder JR Nick Carter (Newburyport,
MA) misplayed a single by Enman that allowed Oliver
to score from second base and Schools to advance
to third. Schools dashed for home and scored the
seventh SJC run of the inning when Enman was picked
off first and got into a rundown.
Suffolk scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth
when JR Anthony Iacopucci (Medford, MA) singled home SO Tim Corcoran
(Beverly, MA).
The Rams showed signs of life in the eighth when SR Nick Martinho
(Middleton, MA) led off with a double and Corcoran followed with a
single to put runners on first and third with nobody out. Keirstead
worked his way out of the jam with a routine fly to left and a 6-4-3
double play off the bat of pinch hitter SR Matt Shanahan (Winchester,
MA) to halt the Suffolk rally bid.
For St. Joe’s, Oliver was 2-5 with a run and
2 RBI’s, Keneborus went 2-4 with a run and
an RBI and Schools was 2-5 with a run. Keirstead
scattered 9 hits and whiffed 4 to improve his season record to 5-1
with the victory.
Tim Corcoran was 2-4 with a run scored for Suffolk and Durant (5-3)
allowed 8 hits and struck out 7 batters in 5.2 innings in the loss.
The Monks will face-off against Johnson and Wales University in a
GNAC semifinal match-up on Saturday, April 26th at Holman
Stadium in Nashua, NH. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00
PM.
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