College of St. Joseph faced a sports schedule loaded with games this past week and they came out of it with huge success. Baseball and softball went 12-1 collectively, winning games in every which way.
Fighting Saints baseball continues to hold the nation’s best record, which improved to 34-9 this week, while they are riding an 18-game winning streak. They are #1 in the USCAA Coaches Poll for the third straight week. Lady Saints softball went 5-1 this past week and they have won 11 out of their last 14 games, bringing them to 17-9 overall on the season. They are finding their stride at the perfect point of the year and currently rank No. 6 in the USCAA Coaches Poll.
Here is how the dominant week for CSJ broke down.
April 13
The one and only loss of the week came in the very first game played. Lady Saints came up just short against Fisher College with a final score of 3-4. St. Joe’s had a one-run lead for the majority of the game and then gave up two runs in the seventh inning.
They came back strong in the second game, accumulating eight hits leading to seven runs for the 7-3 victory over Fisher College.
Fighting Saints baseball also played the Fisher Falcons in a doubleheader on Wednesday. They handled their business and beat the Falcons 7-1 and 4-3 respectively.
April 15-16
The softball team played Southern Maine CC in a four-game set over Friday and Saturday. They put on a show, outscoring the Southern Maine Seawolves 72 to 9 in the four games combined. Each game ended in the fifth inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.
The baseball team also played Southern Maine on Friday and Saturday, but they only matched up three times. The Saints won with relative ease in the first two games, finishing with scores of 12-0 and 11-2 respectively. The third game was much closer and took a big shutout by the Saints to ensure their 2-0 victory.
April 17
The week was closed out by the Fighting Saints’ two walk-off hit performances against NCAA D-III Becker College.
In their first home games of the season, CSJ baseball put on a couple of breathtaking performances for the home crowd. In the first game, CSJ needed a three-run rally to tie the game in the last inning and they did just that. They then held Becker to no runs and scored on a walk-off hit by Tyler Demers in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the game.
The second game was neck and neck all the way. CSJ went into the bottom of the seventh down by one run. With bases loaded, Connor Martin stepped up to the plate and hit a liner into the left field gap to bring in two runners and win the game 3-2.
It was an amazing ending to a stellar week for CSJ.
