Offensive Outburst Spurs Baseball to 17-6 Win over Bentley
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Energized by 18 hits on the afternoon, the Merrimack baseball team breezed past Bentley 17-6 Monday afternoon. The 17 runs scored by the Warriors is the most in a Northeast-10 Conference game since April 21, 2007, a 17-6 victory over Saint Rose. With the win, Merrimack improves to 11-17 on the year with a 3-10 mark in the league. The Falcons sink to 9-20 overall and 3-10 in conference contests.
The Warriors had five players rake three hits on the day, led by Mike Dooling's (Milford, Mass.) 3-for-5 performance with five RBIs and three runs scored. Beau Batchelor (Peabody, Mass.) went 3-for-5 from the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored. Mark O'Flynn (Ipswich, Mass.) posted a 3-for-5 batting performance while driving in two runs and scoring three times. Tim Curran (South Weymouth, Mass.) and PJ Farnham (Andover, Mass.) each had three base knocks in four at-bats in the game.
Merrimack opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning. O'Flynn led off the game with a single through the right side of the infield. Dooling drove in O'Flynn with an RBI infield single to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
The home team put up eight runs in the second inning to extend its lead to 9-0. O'Flynn got the scoring started with an RBI double down the left field line, plating Batchelor from second base. Curran drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in Merrimack's second run of the frame. O'Flynn trotted home on a passed ball as Curran and Brett Julian (Weymouth, Mass.) also advanced to second and third, respectively.
Dooling laced a single through the left side of the infield to drive in a pair of runs to push the Warriors' advantage to 5-0. A throwing error allowed Dooling to cross home plate as Farnham and Joe Mantoni (Hopedale, Mass.) both moved up a base.
Batchelor singled to center field to close out the scoring in the second, driving in the eighth and ninth runs of the game.
Bentley plated a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to cut Merrimack's lead to 9-2.
The Warriors tacked on six runs in the home half of the fourth to grab a 13-run edge. Farnham and Batchelor cracked back-to-back doubles to bring the score to 10-2. Eddie Newton (North Billerica, Mass.) singled up the middle to score Batchelor as Merrimack took a commanding 11-2 lead.
O'Flynn followed with a double to the gap in left center, allowing Newton to hustle home from first. An RBI single by Curran and a two-run single by Dooling closed out the inning as the Warriors' owned a 15-2 advantage.
The Falcons added a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to slice the deficit to 15-4. Shawn Keady singled to lead off the inning. Logan Gillis blasted a two-run homer to left center to drive in both runs.
Merrimack pushed two runs across the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Brandon Cox (Nashua, N.H.) reached base on a passed ball after striking out. Sam Novicki (Winchester, Mass.) and Farnham each drew two-out walks to load the bases. Cox and Novicki both scored as Batchelor reached on a throwing error by the second baseman.
Bentley got two runs back in the top of the ninth as Greg Baggett hit a two-run home run, pulling the score to 17-6.
Alek Morency (Nashua, N.H.) tossed seven innings on the mound for the Warriors. The rookie allowed five hits and two earned runs while striking out four batters. Steve Chamberland (Bristol, Conn.) closed the door with two innings of relief work to seal the win.
Merrimack closes out the series against Bentley as it travels to Waltham April 20.
