AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Suffolk baseball led early, but could not hold a comeback from Saint Joseph's (Maine), who evened things in the seventh and went on to walk-off game one against the Rams, 5-4, in 10 innings Friday afternoon at Lake Myrtle Park at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 4 | Saint Joseph's (Maine) 5
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-3) | Saint Joseph's (Maine) (3-6)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk's scoring started in the second. Alex Sorenti-Burns worked a one-out walked, took second on Sam Armbruster's single through the right side and advanced to third on a fielder's choice during Colin Flynn's at bat. Flynn swiped second to put a pair of Rams in scoring position in time for Joe Norris to clear the bags with a base hit up the middle, which gave the blue-and-gold a two-run edge early on.  

The Monks got on the board in the bottom of the third when a pitch got away from Max Martin and allowed Michael Richards, who led of the frame with a walk, score to slice the margin to one, 2-1. 

The Rams regained the multi-run lead in the top of the fourth when Jonny Gilbride brought two runs in a single to right field. The senior shortstop played Armbruster and Flynn, who singled and walked, and got into scoring position thanks to Norris' sac bunt.  

Saint Joseph's (Maine) trimmed the distance in half once again in the fifth. Richards played a role in the Monks' scoring yet again as he opened the inning with a two-bagger to right field. Two outs later, Dylan Brander knocked a single down the right field line to close the gap to 4-2. 

SJC threatened in the home half of the sixth with the tying run second. The Monks managed to put one across to cut the Rams lead even further. Richards plated the run that made it a 4-3 game on a sac fly. He scored Matt Thibault, who reached on an error by Suffolk's third baseman Armbruster.  

Insurance was unable to come for Suffolk in the seventh and Gregory Kaufmann came in to close for the Rams. The Monks had other things in mind, however, and managed to tie things at 4-all to force the game to go into extras. The tying run came behind Dawson Gundlah's down the right field line that allowed Brander, who singled, to cross home.  

Both teams had chances to grab the go-ahead, but neither struck until Kaufmann found himself in a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the 10th. Stephens barreled the ball to the middle infield where Suffolk secured the out at second and went to turn the double play, but Stephens was called safe allowing the game-winning run to score.  

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Garret Roberts started for Suffolk. He allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. 
• Kaufmann took the loss after giving up two runs on five hits and one walk with one punchout in 3.2 innings of relief. 
• Thibualt tallied the win for the Monks behind 5.0 scoreless innings of relief with just two hits and one walk let up and five Ks. 
• Padraig Mac Seain earned the nod for SJC and gave up four runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Gilbride brought in two runs on one hit. 
• Norris registered two RBI, one hit, on sac fly and one walk. 
• Armbruster supplied two hits and one run.
• Flynn scored two runs, stole three bases and walked once. 
• Max Martin logged two hits. 
• Harry Painter and Jack Mihalchik had one hit each. 
• Alex Sorenti-Burns recorded one run scored and one walk.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Saint Joseph's (Maine) met for the first time since May 4, 2019. 
• The Rams are 24-30 all-time against SJC. 
• Suffolk moved to 8-6 versus the Monks in the Anthony Del Prete era. 
• Suffolk went into extra innings for the first time since the 2023 CCC Play-In Game against Gordon, May 8, 2023. The Rams won that, 13-12, in 11 innings. 
• The Rams and Monks needed more time to decide a winner for the first time since May 8, 2016, game one of the GNAC Championship. Suffolk won that outing, 5-4 in 10 innings.
• Flynn stole a career-high three bases. 
• Norris notched a personal-best two RBI.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up its Spring Break trip this afternoon with game two versus the Monks.