Seven Run Fifth Inning Propels Baseball Past Stonehill, 11-4
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Senior captain Ryan McNeill (Lynnfield,
MA) pitched six-plus innings to help the Merrimack College
baseball team to an 11-4 win over Stonehill College at Warrior
Diamond Sunday afternoon.
"Once Ryan settled down after the first few innings, he gained
some confidence and battled well," head coach Joe
Sarno said after Sunday's win. "That breakout
inning was just what we needed to get something started, and our
passion and attitude carried us to the win today."
With the win, Merrimack delivered the Skyhawks (7-7) their first
Conference loss of the year (3-1), while improving to 4-1 in
Conference play (the best Conference start since before 2004) and
6-3 overall.
As part of a seven run fifth inning, senior Ed Medeiros (Seekonk,
MA) drove in two runs after a costly error by Stonehill
that led to seven unearned runs in the frame. On the year,
Medeiros is batting .389 after going 2-for-2 in the DH on Sunday.
Junior Keith Johansen
(Tynsborough, MA) made his second appearance of the season
in middle relief, pitching 1.1 innings without allowing a hit and
striking out one.
Sophomore Tim Curran (South
Weymouth, MA) also extended his hitting streak to seven
games with two hits to go with a pair of stolen bases and a
walk. Nine games in, Curran is batting .314 at the plate for
the Warriors that are hitting .288 as a team.
"Tim used his great athleticism to have another great game
today," said Sarno. "As he continues to improve, we'll be
much better for it. He's a great asset to our team and is
just the spark our team needs to get something going."
McNeill allowed three runs on eight hits, but struck out six
batters.
The Warriors return to action against the Skyhawks on Tuesday in
Easton, Massachusetts for a Conference contest at 3:30pm.
Merrimack will play Stonehill again on Thursday (April 1) at home
in a non-Conference matchup.
