WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Saint Joseph's Monks baseball team racked up 20 runs on 17 hits and four Worcester State errors to prevail a 20-3 win over the Lancers Saturday afternoon at the Chain of Lakes Stadium.
Seven St. Joseph's players batted .500 or above on the occasion, as Noah McDaniel (Eliot, Maine) scored a team-high three runs, and Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.) and Max McCoomb (S. Berwick, Maine) registered four and three RBI, respectively.
The St. Joseph's pitching staff allowed 11 Lancer hits. However, they were only able to score three runs home on the afternoon, leaving nine men on base. Worcester State's Ben Palatino (Hudson, Mass.), Kenan Kolanda (Sterling, Mass.), and Seth Leslie (Phillipston, Mass.) tallied two hits apiece for the Blue and Gold.
The Monks began their scoring in the top of the 1st inning when Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) scored on a passed ball. They added two more runs in the 2nd inning to put the score at 3-0 in their favor.
Worcester State tallied their first run of the day in the bottom of the 2nd when Mike Powers (Weymouth, Mass.) hit an RBI single up the middle to send Leslie home, who had previously reached base on a double down the left field line.
The Monks added one more run in the 3rd inning, and a pair of runs in the 4th inning to advance the score to 6-1.
The game got out of reach for the Lancers in the 5th inning when St. Joseph's scored nine runs on seven hits and two Worcester State errors, putting the score at 15-1. Another strong inning later, the Monks had pushed the total runs to 20, leaving the Lancers far behind.
Aaron Hall (Haverhill, Mass.) earned the win on the mound for the Monks as he pitched five complete innings and gave up the three runs. The Monks used three relief pitchers, and the three did not allow a run to score. Worcester State's Luke Brennan (Worcester, Mass.) suffered the loss in a 4-inning performance.
Worcester State (3-7) returns home to Massachusetts over the weekend, and looks to play at Rhode Island College on Tuesday, Mar. 28 at 3 p.m.