Baseball Suffers Opening Day Loss vs. Dominican, 8-5

Baseball Suffers Opening Day Loss vs. Dominican, 8-5

Bookmark and Share

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Preseason All-East Region selection Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) knocked in three of the Merrimack College baseball team's five runs on Friday afternoon, but then Warriors suffered an 8-5 loss to Dominican (N.Y.) College in the season opener for both squads at The Northeast Challenge in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The Basics
 Score: Dominican (N.Y.) 8, Merrimack 5
Records: Merrimack (0-1) | Dominican (1-0)
Location: The Ripken Experience | Myrtle Beach, S.C.

How It Happened

  • 3rd inning – Merrimack jumped on the board first after two scoreless innings. With two outs, graduate shortstop Mike Forgione (North Branford, Conn.) and junior designated hitter Mike Hoalcraft (Fayetteville, N.Y.) reached base to bring DiSarcina to the plate. Merrimack's No. 3 hitter struck a two-out double that plated both runners to give the Warriors a 2-0 advantage. Senior righty Perry Kulaga (Lincroft, N.J.) got the start and worked a scoreless bottom-half as Merrimack led through three frames
  • 4th inning – Junior Matt Nicholson (Rockland, Mass.) hit a leadoff double and senior Aidan O'Leary (Portsmouth, N.H.) collected his first-ever hit as Merrimack loaded the bases in the fourth. Freshman Thomas Joyce (Newton, Mass.) worked a bases-loaded walk to collect his first career RBI. Dominican responded in the bottom of the frame, however, with a four-run inning including a three-run homer to take a 4-3 lead
  • 5th & 6th innings – Sophomore Cam Monagle (Cambridge, Mass.) replaced Kulaga in the fourth for his first appearance of the season and worked 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Senior Matt DiNello (Southington, Conn.) came on with one out in the sixth and got the final two outs
  • 7th inning – Senior Ryan Petrone (Leicester, Mass.) scored the game-tying run in the seventh on a balk, while DiSarcina plated Forgione on a sacrifice fly later in the frame to give the Navy and Gold the lead back, 5-4. The Chargers answered once again, scoring once in the bottom half to tie the game at five entering the eighth
  • 8th inning – Dominican's final surge came in the eighth. The Chargers loaded the bases and plated three runs on a pair of singles through the left side to make it an 8-5 game, which proved to be the final score

Inside The Numbers

  • WP: Kraigen Rasalla (1-0) | LP: DiNello (0-1) 
  • Forgione collected two of Merrimack's five hits on the day, batting from the leadoff spot to begin his senior season. The second-year team captain also led the Warriors with two runs scored
  • After only appearing in three games and working three innings as a freshman, Monagle tossed 1.1 innings on Friday, adding his first strikeout of the season
  • DiSarcina recorded his first multi-RBI game of the season after accomplishing that seven times last year. He tied his season high as a junior with three RBI against the Chargers

Up Next
 The Warriors continue their five-game weekend in Myrtle Beach with a doubleheader tomorrow beginning with a 10 a.m. contest with Concordia (N.Y.) followed by a 1:30 p.m. tilt with LIU Post. The Pioneers knocked off No. 6 Southern New Hampshire, 4-3, on Thursday night.

--

For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.

Print Friendly Version