AMHERST, Mass. – Despite falling behind early, an eight-run fourth inning helped lead the Saint Joseph's baseball team past Massachusetts, 17-7, to clinch a series sweep at Earl Lorden Field on Sunday afternoon. Every Hawk in the starting lineup notched a hit and scored a run on the day, while Cal Jadacki led the charge with two home runs - both in the fourth - and five runs batted in.
Saint Joseph's (17-14 overall, 6-3 Atlantic 10) went ahead in the top of the first on John Brue's seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to right, but the Minutemen answered with three in the bottom half on a two-run single by John Jennings and a sacrifice fly by Mike Geannelis.
The Hawks added one in the second as Charlie Concannon led off with a double and came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Jadacki. SJU went ahead briefly in the top of the third on an RBI single by Concannon and a wild pitch that scored Brian Lau.
Massachusetts (7-17 overall, 2-7 Atlantic 10) went ahead in the bottom half, as a Geannelis single and an error allowed a pair of runs to score and give the Minutemen a 5-4 lead.
The Hawks took the lead for good in the fourth. Jadacki led off the frame with a solo home run to knot the affair at five apiece. Taylor Boyd the drew a walk, Peter Sitaras singled, and Marc Giacalone drew a walk of his own to load the bases. Two batters later, a wild pitch scored Boyd before Brue doubled down the right field line to clear the bases and make it an 8-5 game.
Concannon was then hit by a pitch before Matt Maul reached on an error that allowed both runners to score and extend the advantage to five. Jadacki wrapped up the onslaught with his second home run of the inning, a two-run shot to right, the push the lead to 12-5.
Massachusetts added singletons in the fifth and sixth on a Cooper Mrowka RBI single and an RBI groundout by Dylan Morris to get back within five, but a sacrifice fly from Deon Stafford, Jr., in the top of the seventh gave the Hawks a 13-7 advantage.
In the ninth, the Hawks batted around for the second time in the game, pushing four more runs across to wrap up the afternoon. Stafford was hit by a pitch to start the frame and eventually came in to score on a double by Lau. Concannon followed with a two-run double of his own, then came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Jadacki that pushed the final margin to double digits.
Pat Vanderslice earned the win for the Hawks, allowing four runs, two of them earned, on seven hits in four innings of relief to improve to 4-2 on the year. Sunday marked the first time Vanderslice gave up an earned run since March 18, a span that stretched 19.2 consecutive innings.
Tim Cassidy took the loss for Massachusetts, falling to 1-3 after allowing seven runs on seven hits in three innings.
The Hawks will put their four-game winning streak on the line on Tuesday with a non-conference tilt at Delaware. Next weekend, SJU heads to Saint Louis for a three-game Atlantic 10 set.
