Baseball Splits Twin Bill Against Saint Rose Saturday Afternoon
WARRIORS CLAIM SPLIT SATURDAY AFTERNOON AGAINST THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS IN NE-10 ACTION
Links: Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
NORTH ADOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College baseball team split a Northeast-10 doubleheader with visiting Saint Rose on Saturday afternoon at the Warrior Baseball Diamond. The Golden Knights took game one, 10-7, before the Warriors responded with a 10-5 win in the night cap.
The Basics
Game 1 Score: Saint Rose 10, Merrimack 7
Records: Merrimack (12-10, 6-5 NE-10) | Saint Rose (8-13, 4-0 NE-10)
Location: Warrior Baseball Diamond | North Andover, Mass.
Game 2 Score: Merrimack 10, Saint Rose 5
Records: Merrimack (13-10, 7-5 NE-10) | Saint Rose (8-14, 4-1 NE-10)
Location: Warrior Baseball Diamond | North Andover, Mass.
How it Happened: Game 1
Saint Rose tallied 13 hits and used a five-run ninth to down the Warriors, 10-7, in game one Saturday.
Senior Tyler Cuming (Red Bank, N.J.) fell to 2-3 on the year after surrendering five runs off three hits in the top of the ninth.
Merrimack grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as an RBI single from freshman Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) allowed sophomore Frank Crinella (Spingfield, Mass.) to cross home.
After two scoreless innings, the Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, after the visitors tallied two hits off junior Joe Carnevale (East Providence, R.I.). Saint Rose continued its rally with a run in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead over the Warriors.
Freshman Ryan Petrone (Cherry Valley, Mass.) started off the top of the fifth inning with a single before scoring on a walk. With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Crinella cleared the bases with a grand slam over the left field fence. Before Merrimack could do anymore damage, the Golden Knights ended the inning after a ground out to the pitcher.
Down by two (6-4), Saint Rose was able to slice the deficit to one (6-5) after the Golden Knights scored one run off three hits. An inning and a half later, Merrimack put the lead back up to two (7-5).
Trailing by two, Saint Rose rallied back in the top of the ninth for five funs to take a commanding 10-7 lead over the hosts. In the final half inning, Merrimack was unable to battle back and fell 10-7 in game one against the Golden Knights.
How it Happened: Game 2
Senior Conner McMahon (Westfield, Mass.) remained undefeated this season, as the righty picked up his fourth win of the year. Although he allowed four runs, he struck out seven batters and only walked one.
Similar to the game one, Merrimack came out swinging and grabbed a commanding 6-0 lead after two innings.
McMahon continued to keep the Golden Knights at bay in the third and fourth inning, as the visitors could only record one hit. In the bottom of the fourth, Merrimack extended its lead to eight, as sophomore Matt Brown (Belmont, Mass.) tallied an RBI single up the middle to score Crinella and sophomore Mike Forgione (North Branford, Conn.).
After McMahon shut down Saint Rose in the sixth, the Warriors continued to attack the Golden Knights pitching staff. Petrone and senior CJ Flannery (Hudson, Mass.) each tallied an RBI and allowed a run to score.
Trailing by 10, Saint Rose battled back to bring the score to within six (10-4), as the visitors tallied four runs off four hits and a Merrimack error.
In the top of the eight, the Golden Knights continued to threaten the Warriors with a run in the top of the eighth, but pitcher Colin Smith (Somerset, Mass.) was able to keep the visitors at five and secure the win for Merrimack.
A Closer Look
- Senior Eddie Newton (North Billerica, Mass.) led the Warriors' offensively going 4-of-7 (.571) from the plate while finishing with two runs, a double and two RBIs.
- At the end of the day, Merrimack went 20-of-64 (.313) at the plate as well as posting .432 on-base percentage.
- Crinella also chipped in with five runs, a triple, a home run and four RBIs.
- The Golden Knights recorded a 24-of-77 effort at the plate and a .442 slugging percentage.
Up Next
Merrimack returns to action tomorrow (April 6th), as the Warriors host Le Moyne College in a Southwest Division battle. The doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m.
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