Baseball Tops Saint Joseph’s (Maine), 6-4, in GNAC Tournament Opener

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The fourth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) baseball team opened the 2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament with a 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine (SJC) on Friday afternoon at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletics Complex.

With the win, the Blue Jays (24-16) move into the winner's bracket of Pod A and will face top-seeded Johnson & Wales at 2 p.m. Saturday. Earlier in the day, Johnson & Wales defeated No. 8 Colby-Sawyer, 22-6. The Monks (20-18) drop to the elimination bracket and will take on Colby-Sawyer at 11 a.m. Saturday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• SJC struck early with a leadoff home run from Jared Wilhelm, putting the Monks up 1-0 just six pitches into the game.
• USJ tied it in the bottom of the second when junior outfielder Dom Scalia (Northford, Conn.) launched his team-leading seventh home run of the season to left-center.
• The Monks regained the lead with two runs in the third to go up 3-1.
• In the fifth, junior infielder JJ Fox (Killingworth, Conn.) singled to right, scoring sophomore infielder Tyler Carlstrom (Rocky Hill, Conn.) after an errant throw to cut the deficit to 3-2.
• Senior infielder Ryan Shaw (Ellington, Conn.) tied it at 3-3 in the sixth with a single up the middle that brought home freshman outfielder Joe Gratta (Bristol, Conn.).
• Gratta then gave USJ its first lead in the seventh with a two-out RBI double, scoring Fox to make it 4-3.
• Fox added an RBI single in the eighth and later scored on a wild pitch to extend USJ's lead to 6-3.
• SJC scored once in the ninth and brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but sophomore right-hander Zach Thielen (Brooklyn, N.Y.) earned a six-out save—his team-leading fifth of the season—to close it out.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Junior right-hander Brandon Cahill (Meriden, Conn.) picked up the win (5-2), going seven innings and allowing three runs on nine hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
• USJ improved to 3-0 all-time against SJC, earning its first GNAC Tournament win in the series.
• The Blue Jays have now won their tournament opener for the second straight year, following a 9-1 win over Lasell in 2024.
• Fox went 4-for-5 from the leadoff spot for his second career four-hit game (also vs. Rivier on March 23).
• USJ collected 13 hits, its most ever in a GNAC Tournament game.

UP NEXT

Baseball faces top-seeded Johnson & Wales in the Pod A winner's bracket game at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex in Providence, R.I. USJ is 0-3 all-time against the Wildcats, including a 3-0 loss this season on April 9. A win would advance the Blue Jays to Sunday's Pod A finals. A loss would send them to a 5 p.m. elimination game against the winner of Saturday morning's SJC vs. Colby-Sawyer matchup.

FOLLOW
For the latest on University of Saint Joseph Athletics, follow the Blue Jays on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. 

Fans can also download the USJ Front Row Mobile App and subscribe to our Newsletter and Text Alerts. #FearTheFlock #GoBlueJays