St. Joseph’s of Maine Captures 2010 GNAC Championship

May 03, 2010

East Providence, R.I. – St. Joseph’s of Maine captured the 2010 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Baseball Championship with a thrilling 5-4 victory over Suffolk at Pierce Field on Sunday afternoon. The Monks earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. St. Joseph’s senior Ben Grant-Roy (Biddeford, Maine) was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Suffolk jumped out to an early lead when a two-run single by junior Andrew Babb (Hopkinton, Mass.) put the Rams up 2-0 in the top of the first. SU extended their lead to 4-0 in the top of the third on back-to-back RBI singles by junior Mark Annese (Winchester, Mass.) and fellow junior Mark Adessa (Revere, Mass.). St. Joseph’s chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run single by freshman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass.) to make the score 4-2. The Monks then tied the game at 4-4 on a two-run double by junior Chris Campbell (Rochester, N.H.) later in the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, junior Chris Campbell (Rochester, N.H.) led off with a single and was lifted for sophomore Dan Achorn (Bow, N.H.) as a pinch runner. After Achorn advanced to second on a sacrifice by senior Mike Burdin (Gardiner, Maine), he scored on a two-out single to right field by senior Craig Woodbrey (Gorham, Maine) to give the Monks the 5-4 victory.

Campbell was 2-for-4 with two RBI for St. Joseph’s while Pratt went 1-for-2 with one run and two RBI for the Monks. Junior Mason Roberge (Franklin, N.H.) picked up the win in relief for St. Joseph’s, pitching six and two third innings while scattering five hits with two strikeouts.

Babb was 2-for-5 with a run and two RBI at the plate for Suffolk and also suffered the loss for the Rams, allowing five runs on eight hits with six strikeouts. Freshman Jhonneris Mendez (Roslindale, Mass.) went 2-for-3 with a run scored for Suffolk.

With the win St. Joseph’s is now 31-10 while Suffolk drops to 21-15 on the season. Suffolk will return to action on Saturday, May 8^th when they take on Wheaton in a double-header at 12:00 p.m. St. Joseph’s will play MIT in a twin bill on Thursday, May 6^th before traveling to Eastern Connecticut State for the NCAA Regional Tournament, starting on May 19^th.

All-Tournament Team

Ben Grant Roy - St. Joseph’s of Maine - MVP

Sam Murray - St. Joseph’s of Maine

Mason Roberge - St. Joseph’s of Maine

Travis Adams - St. Joseph’s of Maine

Andrew Babb - Suffolk

Bobby Barrett - Suffolk

Matt Sliney - Suffolk

Jonathan Melendez – Johnson & Wales

Nick Marine – Johnson & Wales

Geoff Lopes – Emerson

Zak Levine - Emerson