Baseball Splits NE-10 Doubleheader Against Stonehill Friday Afternoon
WARRIORS DEFEAT SKYHAWKS IN SERIES OPENER, 3-2, IN EXTRA INNINGS, BUT FALLS IN NIGHTCAP, 9-7
Links: Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 2)
EASTON, Mass. – A 10th inning rally allowed the Merrimack College baseball team to split the Northeast-10 doubleheader with division rival Stonehill College at Lou Gorman Field on Friday afternoon. The Warriors claimed the series opener, 3-2, in extra innings, while the Skyhawks came back to win the nightcap, 9-5.
The Basics
Game 1 Score: Merrimack 3, Stonehill 2 (10 innings)
Game 2 Score: Stonehill 9, Merrimack 5
Records: Merrimack (21-20, 9-11 NE Div.) | Stonehill (27-17, 12-7 NE Div.)
Location: Lou Gorman Field | Easton, Mass.
How It Happened: Game 1
After both sides put up zeros through the first two innings, Merrimack edged ahead in the top of the third. Pat Florence (Lowell, Mass.) drove in the Warriors' first run of the day with an RBI single to the pitcher to score senior Eddie Newton (North Billerica, Mass) to give Merrimack a 1-0 lead.
Junior Tim Cashman (Rowley, Mass.) and Stonehill's Jim Duff found their rhythm and kept both teams at bay until the top of the eighth where a sacrifice fly to left field by freshman Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) put Merrimack ahead 2-0. Shortly after, Stonehill rallied for two runs off two hits and a Merrimack error to tie the Warriors at two and send the game into extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, sophomore Mike Forgione (North Branford, Conn.) led off the inning with a single to left field before Merrimack threatened the Skyhawks with runners on first and second. With two outs and runners on base, sophomore Sean O'Neill (Norwood, Mass.) tallied the game-winning run with an RBI single to center field allowing Forgione to cross home.
How It Happened: Game 2
Up, 1-0 in the three-game series, Merrimack jumped on top early as sophomore Frank Crinella (Springfield, Mass.) connected for his fifth homerun of the season to give the Warriors a 1-0 edge. Down by one, Stonehill battled back to tie the Warriors at one in the bottom of the first, but it wasn't long until Stonehill extended its lead to 2-1 off a solo homerun to left field in the bottom of the second.
An inning later, Merrimack regained the lead, 3-2, as Crinella recorded his second homerun of the game and tallied a two-run RBI, but Stonehill recorded two runs off four hits to pushed ahead, 4-3. Stonehill continued to dominate on offense as the hosts extended its lead to two (5-3) in the bottom of the fourth.
After one-run innings from Merrimack and Stonehill, the Warriors cut the deficit to one (6-5) after sophomore Matt Brown (Belmont, Mass.) tallied his first RBI of the afternoon. In the bottom of the eighth, the Skyhawks managed to tack on three more runs to secure a 9-5 lead over the visitors. The Navy and Gold threatened the Skyhawks in the top of the ninth with runners on first and second with one out, but Rugel ended the threat and game with back-to-back strikeouts.
Inside the Numbers
- Crinella led the Warriors offensively with a 6-of-10 (.600) showing at the plate as well as tallied five runs, a double, a triple, three RBI and two homeruns.
- Senior Tyler Cuming (Red Bank, N.J.) picked up his fifth win of the season in game one while allowing no runs and three strikeouts over two innings.
- Junior Joe Carnevale (East Providence, R.I.) suffered his fourth loss of the season after tallying five runs off eight hits to go along with four strikeouts over three innings.
- Stonehill finished the afternoon with a 25-of-74 (.338) effort at the plate and tallied 11 runs and nine RBI.
Northeast Division Standings
T1. Southern N.H. (14-6)
T1. Franklin Pierce (14-6)
3. Bentley (12-6)
4. Stonehill (12-7)
5. Assumption (9-10)
6. Merrimack (9-11)
7. Saint Michael's (5-16)
8. Saint Anselm (4-17)
- Following the loss, the Warriors are now ranked sixth in the Northeast Division.
- With only one game left in the regular season and three games behind Stonehill, the loss eliminated the Warriors' chance of a postseason berth to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship.
Up Next
Merrimack baseball returns to action tomorrow, as the Warriors wrap up the three-game series and the regular season with a single game against Stonehill College starting at 1 p.m. at Lou Gorman Field.
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