Baseball Hits Three Home Runs in 12-1 Victory at Queens Friday
Links: Box Score
FLUSHING, N.Y. – Seniors Sean O'Neill (Norwood, Mass.), Bobby Losanno (Peabody, Mass.) and sophomore Matt Nicholson (Rockland, Mass.), each hit home runs as the Merrimack College baseball team won its series opener, 12-1, at Queens College on Friday afternoon.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 12, Queens 1
Records: Merrimack (10-4) | Queens (5-7)
Location: Hennekens Stadium| Flushing, N.Y.
How It Happened
Merrimack scored seven runs over the first 2.1 innings of the game, chasing the Knights' starter before he could get out of the third inning. Senior Matt Brown (Belmont, Mass.) roped a two-RBI single in the first, and freshman Matthew Ronai (Orange, Conn.) scored on a passed ball in the second to make it 3-0.
The big flys came in the top of the third. With Ryan Petrone (Leicester, Mass.) and Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) on base, O'Neill belted his first-ever home run over the right-centerfield fence to make it 6-0. Two batters later, Nicholson smacked his second homer of the year for Merrimack's seventh run of the afternoon. Ronai scored his second run of the game on an error, making it 8-0 after three frames.
The long balls kept coming in the fifth, when Losanno hit his first career round-tripper out to right field. In the top of the sixth, Merrimack loaded the bases load for leadoff man Mike Forgione (North Branford, Conn.). The Warriors shortstop hit a double off the leftfield wall, scoring two more runners for Merrimack 11th and 12th runs.
Junior Perry Kulaga (Lincroft, N.J.) started, but was removed after three innings after his offense staked him to an eight-run advantage. Freshman Riley Sorenson (Sandwich, Mass.) pitched three innings of scoreless relief, followed by one-inning performances by classmates Trevor Cooley (Randolph, Mass.) and Cam Monagle (Cambridge, Mass.) and redshirt-freshman Garrett Hudson (Greenfield, Mass.) to close out the 12-1 victory.
Inside The Numbers
- Kulaga's final line (ND): 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- Sorenson's final line (W): 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's
- Merrimack's rookie right-hander picked up his first ever win, working through the sixth inning after coming on to start the fourth
- The three-homer day marked the most home runs in a game for the program since April of 2012, when the Warriors belted three in a road against Franklin Pierce
- O'Neill's five hits included one double and three singles for nine total bases. He set a new career high with the five base knocks, falling a triple short of the cycle
- Petrone moved up to the two-hole on Friday and continued to swing a hot bat with two hits and two runs scored. He has hits in five of his last six games, picking up his second multi-hit contest of the year
- Losanno's lone hit of the game went over the fence, matching O'Neill with his first home run.
- Nicholson's long ball was the third of his career, as he totaled four of Merrimack's season-high 18 hits. After going through an 0-for-8 stretch, the Warriors' rightfielder has seven hits in his last 10 at-bats
Up Next
The weekend series concludes with a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
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