Monks create hype in the Sunshine State by Rob Donato

The Saint Joseph’s College Monks started the season ranked 14 in the country in the preseason polls.  After a dominant start in Florida with a pair of wins against Rhode Island College and Ripon College and a 2-1 victory over #3 ranked Wheaton, the Monks (5-0) out of Standish are pushing their way down the polls currently taking the #9 spot in the nation.  The win over Wheaton College was not included in the standings.  SJC pitching staff has combined to post a .51 ERA and opponent hitters are batting a low .175 against the dominance of eight Monk hurlers.  In 35 innings, the Monks have posted 32 strikeouts only walking seven batters.  Senior Chad Rafferty, d3baseball.com “player to watch”, is showing why he is so dominant posting eight strikeouts and five hits in seven innings of work.  The Monks offense is a large contributor to the success this spring being led by Alex Lorenc who is 8-15 and batting .533 with 7 RBIs in five games.  The Monks outscored their opponents so far 26-2. 

The St. Joes Lady Monks (5-1) are also off to a strong start in Fort Myers, Fla. with wins against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the season opener, Drew University, North Park, Delaware Valley and Elms.  The Lady Monks’ only loss has come from Wheaton College.  Rae-Marie Copan, pitcher for the Monks had an impressive first start flirting with a perfect game for five complete innings and ending up with a one-hit shutout performance against Drew University.  Theresa Hendrix, Kayla Vannah, Lindsay Moore, Connie Grovo, Kim Jordan and Danyelle Shufelt contributed largely to the success of the Lady Monks so far during the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic.  

Men’s Lacrosse(1-4) struggled on the road falling to Centenary, N.J. 16-6 on Monday, then losing to Salve Regina 15-4  on Tuesday. The men play again on March 16 at Deering Memorial Stadium in Portland versus Anna Maria and then will travel to Massachusetts to visit Emmanuel College March 19.  Women’s Lacrosse(2-1) fall to Goucher College 16-4 in their third game of the season.  The Lady Monks will be visiting USM March 14, Emerson March 16 and Bates College March 18.  Visit www.gomonks.com for full coverage and results.