St. Joseph’s College struggled through a 15-23 baseball season in 2004. Having only two seniors and embarking on a brutal schedule as an NCAA Division III independent probably contributed to the Monks’ difficulties.
But you can bet missing the powerful bat and defensive skills of Derek McIntosh didn’t help, either.
McIntosh didn’t need long to adjust to the college game. The catcher from Auburn carved out a .367 average with six homers and 42 RBIs as a freshman in 2002. But his production dipped as a sophomore, and McIntosh didn’t even suit up as a junior.
Now he’s making up for lost time. After winning a four-man battle for the starting backstop job in camp, McIntosh batted .569 through his first 17 games. His on-base (.662) and slugging (.882) percentages are phenomenal. In the field, he’s made only one error.
“Everything starts with the catchers on this ball club,” St. Joe’s coach Will Sanborn said in a recent press release. “Our pitching staff has a great deal of confidence.”
The Monks have responded with 10 early wins. Plus, St. Joe’s is back in the North Atlantic Conference, where a championship could secure a bid to the national tournament.
McIntosh tops the team with 29 hits, five home runs, 21 RBIs and 22 runs scored.
Across the sprawling athletic complex at Ward Field, two area softball players have helped the St. Joe’s softball team to six wins. Senior captain Allyson Ferguson, an Oak Hill grad, logged three of those victories as a starting pitcher. And EL alumna Jamie Morrison has started every game in the outfield as a sophomore, belting out 10 hits.
Bleakney breaks through
It’s never a surprise to see graduates of the Lewiston High School tennis program succeeding at the next level. Allison Bleakney has continued that tradition in her first season with the women’s team at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.
Last Friday, Bleakney teamed up with Elise Clark for an 8-0 blanking of Tamara Miller and Kristen Vogt of American International College.
The Chieftains rolled to a 9-0 victory over AIC, capturing 96 of 98 games in an astonishingly one-sided win.
Stonehill dropped a first-place showdown with Bryant College the next day but rebounded Sunday with a shutout of Saint Rose.
Bleakney and Clark are 2-0 at No. 3 doubles.
Husky tracks
Freshman sprinter Pam Yomoah of Auburn scored points in a pair of events to lead the University of Southern Maine women’s track and field team to victory at the Bryant Invitational last weekend in Smithfield, R.I.
USM topped 18 teams in the event.
Yomoah ran third in the 400 meters with a time of 1:00.52 and finished fourth in the 200, covering the distance in 26.86 seconds.
Another local member of the Southern Maine squad, Maranacook graduate Kristen Sinclair, recently qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships for the third straight year with her javelin throw in the University of South Florida Invitational at Tampa. Sinclair’s heave of 39.3 meters was four-tenths of a meter beyond the qualifying standard.
In all, eight local men and women are competing for the Huskies during the outdoor season.
Sara Benedetto of Jay (junior, middle distances), Emily Geismar of Minot (hurdles and jumps) and Ashley Jensen of East Dixfield (throws) strengthen the women’s roster.
For the men, Andy Sloat of Auburn (throws) is joined by sophomore Ian Hebert of Gray (throws, pole vault) and freshman middle distance runner and jumper Aaron Whitten of Farmington.
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