Baseball Downs Saint Anselm, Dominican in Non-League Bouts
CHESTER, NY- The Merrimack baseball team picked up a pair of non-conference victories Saturday at The Rock Sports Park, defeating Saint Anselm 5-1 before blanking Dominican 8-0. The Warriors improve to 3-6 overall with the two wins. The Hawks drop to 6-8 on the year and the Chargers move to 1-6.
Mark O'Flynn (Ipswich, MA) led Merrmack with a 6-for-9 effort from the dish on the day with four runs batted in and two runs scored. Dionys Quezada (Lawrence, MA) collected two hits, three RBIs and two runs in the two-game set. Casey Cotter (North Hampton, NH) and Alan Pastyrnak (Bristol, CT) each picked up a pair of base knocks while driving in two RBIs. Eddie Newton (North Billerica, MA) registered two hits, one run and one RBI in game two.
On the mound, junior Joe Mantoni (Northbridge, MA) and rookie Joe Carnevale (East Providence, RI) eached picked up wins Saturday. Mantoni claimed his second victory of the season and Carnevale earned his first collegiate win. The Warriors' pitching staff combined to fan 31 batters in the victories.
"It was great to see us get a couple of wins today against quality teams. We pitched great today, only allowing one run in 18 innings and striking out 31," second-year head coach Jim Martin said. "We were able to get quality at-bats in pressure situations. Tomorrow will be another great challenge and we will look to continue to play hard and compete."
Saint Anselm carried a 1-0 edge into the seventh inning. O'Flynn led off with a double and Quezada followed with his first collegiate base hit, a two-run homer to give Merrimack a 2-1 lead.
In the eighth inning, Tim Curran (Weymouth, MA) ripped a lead-off double and Cotter picked up a bunt single to put runners on the corners for the Warriors. O'Flynn smacked a single to plate Curran and Cotter to increase Merrimack's lead to 4-1.
Mantoni tossed six innings and retired 11 batters by way of the "K" while surrendering four hits. Alek Morency (Nashua, NH) struck out six Hawks as he worked the seventh and eighth frames before Brett Julian (Weymouth, MA) shut the door with a scoreless ninth.
Merrimack claimed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Dominican. Pastyrnak singled to lead off the game and scored the Warriors' first run of the contest as O'Flynn raked a two-out single through the right side of the infield.
The game turned into a pitchers' duel after Merrimack grabbed a one-run edge in the first. The two starters combined for 23 strikeouts. Carnevale racked up 12 strikeouts in six innings of work on the mound for the Warriors while allowing no runs and just two walks in his second start of the 2012 campaign. Dominican's Dustin Javins fanned 11 batters and issued no walks in seven innings.
Merrimack erupted for seven runs in the top of the eighth inning. Newton singled to lead off the frame and advanced to second as Pastyrnak reached on an error. Curran plated Newton as a throwing error allowed him to reach first safely. Cotter laced a two-run single to double the Warriors advantage to 4-0 with no outs.
A one-out single by O'Flynn advanced Cotter to third before Quezada reached base on an error which allowed Cotter to cross the plate. Brandon Cox (Nashua, NH) followed with a similar result as an error allowed him to reach first and load the bases for Merrimack.
In his second plate appearance of the inning, Newton singled to third to drive in a run and keep the bases full. Pastyrnak increased the margin to eight with single up the middle to score a pair of runs as the Warriors took an 8-0 lead.
Chris Pinette (Norwood, MA) held the Chargers scoreless through the seventh inning as he tossed a flawless frame with one strikeout and two groundouts.
Dominican threatened in the home half of the eighth as it put runners on the corners with two outs. A groundout retired the side as the Chargers were unable to tack on their first run of the game.
Beau Batchelor (Peabody, MA) and Danny Karasinski (Staten Island, NY) combined to close the gate and seal the Warriors' second-consecutive victory. The two both struck out one batter in one inning of work each as Batchelor pitched the eighth and Karasinski finished off the game.
Merrimack recorded nine hits in the nightcap while Dominican mustered two.
The Warriors will be back in action Sunday, March 11 with rematches against Saint Anselm and Dominican at The Rock Sports Park in Chester, NY.
