Rookie Relievers Shine in Baseball's Doubleheader Sweep of Southern Connecticut
Links: Box Score (G1) | Box Score (G2)
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College baseball team erased a three-run deficit to win its opener and followed by never trailing in the second contest as the Warriors swept the visiting Southern Connecticut State Owls from the Warrior Baseball Diamond on Saturday afternoon.
The Basics
Score (G1): Merrimack 6, Southern CT 4
Score (G2): Merrimack 8, Southern CT 3
Records: Merrimack (16-9, 6-2 NE-10) | Southern CT (8-15-1, 1-6 NE-10)
Location: Warrior Baseball Diamond | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened (G1)
Coming off the second no-hitter in program history, junior Perry Kulaga (Lincroft, N.J.) took the hill in the opener. It did not take long for the Owls to get into the hit column as the second pitch of the game was sent into left field for a single. Kulaga allowed four runs over the first three innings, with a Sean O'Neill (Norwood, Mass.) RBI double the lone score for the Warriors.
Merrimack's junior righty settled down to throw four straight scoreless innings, allowed the offense to work their way back into the game.
The entire production came in a five-run bottom of the sixth inning. Two singles from O'Neill and Matt Nicholson (Rockland, Mass.) along with a walk from Matthew Ronai (Orange, Conn.) loaded the bases with one out for Pat Florence (Lowell, Mass.). The two-year captain singled into right field to make it a 4-2 game.
The hit chased the Owls' starter from the game, with reliever Shawn Urbano called upon out of the bullpen. Senior Bobby Losanno (Peabody, Mass.) greeted him by lining the first pitch he saw into right centerfield for a two-RBI double. Redshirt-junior Mike Forgione (North Branford, Conn.), who entered the game with 99 career hits, reached the century mark by hitting a two-run single into centerfield, making it 6-4 Warriors.
Freshman Daniel Amidon (Andover, Mass.) came on in relief for Kulaga in the eighth. He worked around a leadoff walk to come out of the frame unscathed, and returned in the ninth to complete the save, striking out the final batter of the game. It was the rookie's first save in his first save opportunity.
How It Happened (G2)
Senior Zach Schindler (Halifax, Mass.) entered the game with a chance to pick up a career-high fourth win of the season against Southern Connecticut. Merrimack's offense staked him to a 2-0 lead after the first due to a run-scoring single from Tyler Lyne (Agawam, Mass.), who then came around to score on a dropped fly ball off the bat of Matt Brown (Belmont, Mass.)
The Owls got two back in the third to tie it a two-all. Merrimack took advantage of another defensive miscue in the third, with Lyne scoring from third after a throwing error by the first basemen. Nicholson's sacrifice fly later in the frame played O'Neill, putting the score at 4-2.
It was a two-run game entering the bottom of the eighth, 5-3, when singles from Forgione and Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) and another error from the Owls resulted in three insurance runs crossing the plate.
Freshman Riley Sorenson (Sandwich, Mass.) replaced Schindler in the sixth, working three shutout frames, allowing just two hits. Schindler left with the victory, his career-high fourth of the season and eighth of his career.
Inside The Numbers
- Kulaga's final line (W, 3-1): 7.0 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4 K's
- Schindler's final line (W, 4-1): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K's
- Amidon and Sorenson combined to pitch five innings of scoreless relief against the Owls. Amidon has not allowed a run in his four innings of work, while Sorenson lowered his ERA to 0.75 in 12 innings over five appearances
- Schindler has already thrown in a personal-high 35.1 innings over six starts and struck out 33 batters, 10 more than last season's output. He is on pace to set career highs in ERA (3.57) and strikeouts-per-game (8.41)
- Forgione continues to swing a hot bat, extending his hitting streak to four games while he has reached base in nine straight
- O'Neill's game-one performance carried the offense from the cleanup spot. His three-hit game served as the lone multi-hit day of the opener for the Warriors
Up Next
The Navy and Gold take on the University of New Haven in a twin billing tomorrow at the Warrior Baseball Diamond. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
