Baseball Loses Non-League Tilt at Stonehill 5-2
EASTON, Mass. – The Merrimack baseball team suffered a 5-2 setback Thursday afternoon at Stonehill in non-conference action. The Warriors dip to 7-9 on the year while the Skyhawks' overall record rises to 17-7.
Merrimack recorded 10 hits on the day while allowing Stonehill just eight. Mike Dooling (Milford, Conn.) posted a 3-for-4 batting performance for the Warriors while PJ Farnham (Andover, Mass.) went 2- for-4 from the plate.
The Skyhawks took a 1-0 lead in the second inning and increased that advantage to 2-0 in the third. A leadoff solo home run by Rich McHugh gave Stonehill a 3-0 edge at the end of four innings of action.
The Warriors tacked on a run in the top of the fifth frame as Brett Julian (South Weymouth, Mass.) plated Farnham with a double down the right field line.
The home team reestablished a three-run lead in the bottom of the fifth. Michael White singled to left field to knock in Scott Hackett for the Skyhawks' fifth run of the contest.
Dooling started the sixth inning with a leadoff single to center field and advanced to third on a pair of sacrifice hits. Freshman CJ Flannery (Hudson, Mass.) pushed Dooling across the plate with an RBI single to center to cut the visitors' deficit in half, 4-2.
Stonehill added a run in the bottom of the seventh to wrap up the scoring.
Conner McMahon (Westfield, Mass.) went five innings on the mound for the Warriors with seven strikeouts. Travis Terrill (Hudson, N.H.) tossed three innings for Merrimack in a relief effort and fanned four batters.
Looking to claim their first win in the conference, the Warriors travel to face Adelphi in a Northeast-10 doubleheader April 2.
