AUBURNDALE, Fla.—Gordon Baseball was slow out of the gate against perennial GNAC powerhouse Saint Joseph's of Maine, falling to the Monks 18-3 on Monday morning. Five different Saint Joe's players knocked in at least two runs to help the Monks build a 15-0 lead over the first five innings before Gordon could counter with any production of their own. The Fighting Scots drop to 1-4 on the season with the loss.
After a scoreless first inning, the Monks' offense came alive for five runs in the second frame. Errors were a thorn in Gordon's side for the second straight day, allowing Saint Joseph's to have additional opportunities at the plate. The Monks added one in the third and two more in the fourth innings to pile up an 8-0 lead before the Scots could blink.
On the other end, Gordon could only manage three hits against Monks' starter Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) over the course of five innings. Sanborn went to the bench with a 14-0 lead after striking out three Scots and walking none.
Caleb Bae (Canyon Country, Calif.) gave up nine runs over four innings of work, but only five of the runners he surrendered were earned. Bae still managed to strike out four batters and only gave up one walk in his first collegiate start.
Down 16-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Gordon was finally able to break through the Monks' pitching staff with three runs.
Matt Moffat (Stratford, Conn.) led off the inning with a single and was ushered to third on a single by fellow freshman
Addison Tarr (Oxnard, Calif.) the very next at bat.
Daniel Mahutga (Corning, Calif.) hit a double to the gap in right center to bring Moffat home for Gordon's first run, but Tarr was held up at third base. Freshman
Travis Benoit (Worcester, Mass.) got his first collegiate RBI with a long groundout to the Monks' shortstop, making it 16-2. After
Eddie Klukojc (Wilton, Conn.) made it to first with a single,
Mark Fitzgerald (Camarillo, Calif.) hit a sac fly to score Mahutga from third.
The Monks added two more runs in the final inning for the final result of 18-3.
Fitzgerald led Gordon with two hits in two at bats, turning in a RBI on the sixth inning sac fly.
The Fighting Scots have a day off tomorrow before returning to the grounds on Wednesday for a doubleheader with Ursinus beginning at 9:30 a.m.
