Baseball Defeats Saint Michael's, 5-2, to Begin Northeast Division Play
Links: Box Score
HAVERHILL, MASS. – The Merrimack College baseball team opened up Northeast Division play with a 5-2 victory over Saint Michael's College from Trinity Stadium in Haverhill, Mass. on Thursday night. With the victory, the Warriors improved to 9-5 on the year, with a 3-0 record in conference play.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 5 | Saint Michael's 2
Records: Merrimack (9-5, 3-0 NE-10) | Saint Michael's (4-9, 0-2 NE-10)
Location: Trinity Stadium | Haverhill, Mass.
What They Said
Head coach Nick Barese: "We definitely needed all three phases tonight. We got off to a good start offensively, but when our bats went quiet, our pitching and defense came up huge. The bullpen did a great job finishing, and helped us grab the win."
How It Happened
Freshman pitcher PJ Browne (Rutland, Mass.) got the start for the Warriors, making his Northeast-10 Conference debut. Browne entered the game looking to join fellow starter Joe Carnevale (East Providence, R.I.) with three wins in their first three starts to begin the year.
The Warriors offense helped out Browne early, scoring twice in the bottom of the second. Designated hitter Matt Brown (Belmont, Mass.) started the frame with a liner to the hot corner, that was booted by the Saint Michael's third baseman. Brown came around to score on a Paul Buckley (Sacamore Beach, Mass.) RBI single. Merrimack's other run came home on a fielder's choice.
Freshman Matt Nicholson (Rockland, Mass.) did not start the game but made an immediate impact. In the bottom of the third he smacked his first career home run to give the Navy and Gold a 4-0 advantage. In the top of the fourth, the Purple Knights knocked home their first run of the game, but the Warriors immediately answered in the bottom of the frame with a RBI single from Frank Crinella (East Longmeadow, Mass.).
Browne would leave the game after six innings, allowing just two runs. Redshirt junior Junior Vasquez (Lawrence, Mass.) pitched scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth, and sophomore closer Nate Spielvogel (Brookline, Mass.) shut the door in the top of the ninth. Browne improves to 3-0 through his three first career starts, while Spielvogel notches his second save of the year.
Inside The Numbers
- Crinella finished as one of two batters with multi-hit nights for the Warriors. He now leads the team with a .373 batting average and a .549 slugging percentage
- Nicholson posted by far the best game of his young career. He joins Crinella, Brown and Dionys Quezada (Lawrence, Mass.) as members of the team with homers, and was 3-for-3 at the dish, adding a RBI and two runs scored
- Browne was stellar again on the bump for Merrimack. He leads the team with 21 innings pitched, going at least six frames in all three of his starts. He has 16 strikeouts to go along with a 2.14 earned run average
- Vazquez and Spielvogel tossed three perfect innings to close out the game. The latter now has two saves in three appearances, having yet to allow a run on the young season
- The Navy and Gold swiped four bases on the night, while adding five extra-base hits
Up Next
Merrimack returns to Trinity Stadium tomorrow night to begin a three-game series with the Stonehill Skyhawks. First pitch is set for 7 p.m., with the Warriors serving as the home team.
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