Baseball Clinches Postseason Berth with Doubleheader Split of Assumption on Saturday
Links: Box Score (G1) | Box Score (G2)
WORCESTER, Mass. – The Merrimack College baseball team locked up the fourth seed in the Northeast Division of the Northeast-10 Conference with a doubleheader split against Assumption on Saturday. By winning Game 1 and Bentley's ensuing loss to Franklin Pierce, the Warriors secured a berth in the upcoming NE-10 Championship.
The Basics
Score (G1): Merrimack 5 | Assumption 2
Score (G2): Merrimack 6 | Assumption 12
Records: Merrimack (17-17, 9-12 NE Div.) | Assumption (9-29, 5-15 NE Div.)
Location: Rocheleau Field | Worcester, Mass.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook
The top-four teams in the Northeast Division advance to the Northeast-10 Championship. Division records are in parentheses. Merrimack is locked into opening the conference tournament on the road against top-seed and nationally ranked Franklin Pierce on Tuesday. Standings as of 5/2/15
1) Franklin Pierce 41-2 (19-1)
2) Southern NH 30-10 (16-5)
3) Stonehill 29-11-1 (15-6)
4) Merrimack 17-17 (9-12)
5) Bentley 9-22 (7-12)
6) Saint Anselm 13-24 (7-14)
7) Assumption 9-29 (5-15)
8) Saint Michael's 10-28 (4-17)
How It Happened (G1)
The Warriors began the afternoon needing to win once games and have Bentley lose once to No. 1/3 Franklin Pierce to wrap up a postseason berth.
Freshman PJ Browne (Rutland, Mass.) toed the rubber for the Warriors, looking for his first win since beginning his career with four straight victories. Merrimack got on the board first in the top of the second to take a 1-0 lead, but the Greyhounds responded with a pair of runs in the third to take the lead.
In the top of the fourth, Merrimack tied the game by executing a first-and-third play. Junior Bobby Losanno (Peabody, Mass.) got caught in a rundown between first and second, which allowed sophomore Ryan Petrone (Leicester, Mass.) to score from third. Browne took over from there, only allowing one runner to reach base between the fifth and seventh innings.
In the top of the seventh, sophomore Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) entered the batter's box with the bases loaded and walked to score a run. DiSarcina returned to bat to hit and RBI single and scored on a double by cleanup hitter Sean O'Neill (Norwood, Mass.) to make the game 5-2
Browne got through the eighth inning, striking out eight Greyhounds. The lefthander allowed five hits on two runs. Sophomore Nate Spielvogel (Brookline, Mass.) came on for the ninth to get his sixth save of the season.
How It Happened (G2)
Sophomore Joe Velozo (Tewksbury, Mass.) started the game, as Merrimack learned its playoff fate before the game began. Bentley's loss to Franklin Pierce clinched the four seed in the division for Merrimack.
Velozo gave up three runs to the Greyhounds in the bottom of the first. The Warriors answered with three runs combined over the second and third frames on two run-scoring ground outs and a sacrifice fly from senior John Pastyrnak (Bristol, Conn.). The Greyhounds used a three-run bottom of the fourth inning to build their lead back up to 6-3.
Assumption tacked on six runs the rest of the game to extend their run total up to five. The fourth Warriors' run came off of a Matt Dinello (Southington, Conn.) single in the sixth inning to score Chris Cimmino (Orange, Conn.).
Junior catcher Pat Florence (Lowell, Mass.) collected a RBI single to score Pastrynak, accounting for Merrimack's fifth run. The final run of the game came on another hit from Dinello. Assumption took the series finale, 12-6.
Inside The Numbers
- Browne now is second on the team in innings pitched with 55 this season. He owns a 3.27 earned run average and is 5-2 on the year. Those five wins lead the team
- In Game 1, hitters No. 4-7 carried the torch for the Warriors. Each player had multi-hit games, led by designated hitter Matt Brown (Belmont, Mass.) with three knocks. Freshman Ricky Smith (Weymouth, Mass.) registered a 2-for-4 day as well
- Spielvogel is now second in the conference with six saves. His one inning of work marked his seventh scoreless appearances of the season
- In Game 2, freshman Joe Westerman (Maynard, Mass.) made his second appearance of the campaign, working a scoreless eighth inning
Up Next
Merrimack advances to the NE-10 Championship for the second time in the last three years, and will take on No. 1/3 Franklin Pierce in an opening round matchup on Tuesday up in Rindge, N.H.
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